The New York Jets came out fighting in the second half of the AFC title game, but a Pittsburgh Steelers 24-3 halftime lead was enough to douse the hopes of earning Gang Green the right to play in Super Bowl XLV.

“We played a great half but not a great game” said Jets coach Rex Ryan. “They’re [Pittsburgh] a great team and to beat them you have to put four quarters together and we didn’t do that.”

The Steelers dominated the first 30 minutes of the game with an abundance of running plays, quarterback scrambles and timely passes. The Jets countered with poor tackling and soft coverage digging a hole they could not get out of despite a monumental comeback.

After deferring the opening kick-off, the Jets had few answers in stopping the Steelers first drive which lasted over nine minutes. Running back Rashard Mendenhall (27 rushes, 121 yards) slipped through the hands of the defense on numerous carries and capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to give Pittsburgh the early lead.

“They came right at us,” said defensive end Shaun Ellis. “We had a lot of missed tackled and we just weren’t getting it done.”

The Jets offense managed only one possession in the opening quarter rushing for a total of two yards and passing for only another 17 yards resulting in a Steve Weatherford punt.

“We started slow and that was too bad,” said quarterback Mark Sanchez. “To come out slow against such a tough team – it just doesn’t work.”

After holding the Steelers in their second possession, the Jets offense was able to accomplish very little as a stifling defense again forced Gang Green to punt.

With a Heinz Field crowd screaming and waving towels, the Steelers continued to march through the Jets defense in the second quarter as Mendenhall seemed unstoppable slipping past defender after defender. The drive resulted in a Steelers field goal and a 10-0 lead.

“This was the first time our defense didn’t make the big stops to give our offense a chance to make some plays,” said Ryan.

And if things were not bad enough, on the next possession Sanchez was blind-sided by linebacker Ike Taylor resulting in a fumble recovery and touchdown by William Gay. Sanchez slowly walked off the field holding his throwing arm and what seemed to be a disastrous moment for the Jets, however the young quarterback quickly bounced back taking snaps in their next possession.

The Jets were finally able to answer the Steelers stellar offense as they capped a 7-play drive ending with a Nick Folk 42-yard field goal breaking the scoreless drought.

“You have to give them [Pittsburgh] credit,” said All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis. “They came out fast and we weren’t getting it done in the first half.”

The Steelers, who will now appear in their third Super Bowl in six years, encountered a different Jets team in the second half.

“To be honest, they came out and out-tempo’d us in the first half,” said Ellis. “We needed to come back out and play like we played all year long.”

As the second half got underway, the Jets offense came to life as a 90-yard drive highlighted by a 23-yard run by Shonn Greene and a 45-yard touchdown connection from Sanchez to wide receiver Santonio Holmes got Gang Green to within two scores.

With the score 24-10, the Jets defense turned up the heat bringing pressure to Roethlisburger forcing a three-and-out before Jamaal Westerman ran into punter Jeremy  Kapinos resulting in a first down and keeping the Pittsburgh’s drive alive. However, the drive was short-lived as Roethlisburger’s deep pass to Sanders was intercepted by Jets safety Brodney Pool.

As the game entered its final quarter, the Jets seemed destined for the end zone once again as they marched down to the Steelers one-yard line.

However, with the play clock running down, a miscommunication between coaches and Sanchez forced the second-year quarterback to rush the snap and throw a potential touchdown pass out of the reach of his receiver.

As the Steelers players waved their arms, the crowd’s noise intensified and the Jets were held at the goal line coming up empty on what would become the game-changing drive.

Following a safety in the Steelers end zone, the Jets hopes and dreams were still alive.

Gang Green’s next drive began on their own 42-yard line and they quickly moved into Pittsburgh territory as Sanchez connected multiple times to Braylon Edwards and Dustin Keller setting up a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery closing the gap to 24-19 with 3:06 remaining in the game.

Following Folk’s kickoff, the Steelers managed to keep control of the football and run out the clock as the Jets could do nothing but watch their season come to a close.

“I am proud of the way our guys fought in the second half,” said Sanchez. “This definitely hurts though, especially when you get this close to your ultimate goal.”

Linebacker Jason Taylor added, “It was a great run this season – until tonight. It’s the toughest loss I have ever been a part of.”

The road to the Super Bowl for the New York Jets ended just short of their goal following impressive road wins over Indianapolis and New England.

“I am proud of our football team,” said Ryan. “We had a hell of a year. But we will be back. We are going to keep chasing it until we win it.”