NFL playoffs , 2010 - 11 The National Football League playoffs for the 2010 season began on January 8 , 2011 and led up to Super Bowl XLV on February 6 , 2011 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas . This was the first time that the new postseason overtime rules were in effect , although none of the playoff games this season ended up going into the extra session . Under the new changes , instead of a straight sudden death , the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss only scores a field goal on its first possession ( the game will end if they score a touchdown ) . Instead , the other team gets a possession . If the coin toss loser then scores a touchdown , it is declared the winner . If the score is tied after both teams had a possession , then it goes back to sudden death . This was the first ever post - season in NFL history that included a team with a losing record , when the Seattle Seahawks won their division with a 7 – 9 record . " Unless otherwise noted , all times listed are Eastern Standard Time ( ) " Participants . This marks the first time in league history that a team with a losing record has advanced to the playoffs in a full season ; the Seattle Seahawks finished 7 – 9 ( for a win percentage of . 438 ) , but this was still enough to win the NFC West division championship , and the Seahawks advanced to the playoffs . The only other time any team with a losing record ever qualified for the playoffs was during the Super Bowl tournament following the strike - shortened 1982 NFL season , when two losing teams ( one from each conference ) qualified for the tournament . That tournament had an expanded field in which 16 out of the 28 teams qualified for the playoffs , as opposed to the 12 out of 32 teams eligible since 2002 . Furthermore , the two teams that qualified that year both had records of 4 – 5 ( . 444 ) , resulting in a higher win percentage than the 2010 Seahawks . Six days after winning the division , the Seahawks defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints to become the first playoff team with a losing record to win in the postseason . Wild Card playoffs . Saturday , January 8 , 2011 . NFC : Seattle Seahawks 41 , New Orleans Saints 36 . The Seahawks made history by becoming the first 7 – 9 team ever to make the playoffs and then did it again by becoming the first to win a playoff game , racking up 31 first downs and 474 yards , including a 67 - yard touchdown run by Marshawn Lynch late in the fourth quarter . This marked the fifth consecutive year a Super Bowl champion failed to win a playoff game in the next season . Two early Seahawk miscues enabled the Saints to build a 10 - point lead . First Olindo Mare kicked the opening kickoff out of bounds , giving New Orleans the ball at their 40 - yard line . New Orleans then drove to the Seahawks ' 8 - yard line , but had to settle for a Garrett Hartley field goal after Reggie Bush dropped a pass on third down that could have kept the drive going . Then three plays into the Seahawks ' drive , Matt Hasselbeck ' s pass went through the hands of receiver Benjamin Obomanu and into the arms of defensive back Jabari Greer , who returned the interception 10 yards to the Seattle 35 . New Orleans subsequently drove 35 yards in nine plays , aided by a third down pass interference penalty on Walter Thurmond in the end zone , and scored with Drew Brees ' 1 - yard touchdown pass to fullback Heath Evans , giving them a 10 – 0 lead . Seattle fullback Michael Robinson returned Hartley ' s short kickoff 18 yards to the 43 - yard line , and the Seahawks struck back with a 57 - yard drive that ended with Hasslebeck ' s 11 - yard touchdown pass to tight end John Carlson . The Saints countered as Brees completed 4 of 5 passes for 53 yards on an 83 - yard drive that ended with a 5 - yard touchdown run by Julius Jones , who had been cut by Seattle early in the season , to again give the Saints a ten point lead . But Hasselbeck led the Seahawks right back on a 70 - yard scoring drive , featuring a 39 - yard reception by tight end Cameron Morrah . On the next play , Hasslebeck threw his second touchdown pass to Carlson , cutting the score to 17 – 14 . After an exchange of punts , Jones lost a fumble while being tackled by Raheem Brock that Seattle linebacker David Hawthorne recovered on the Saints ' 18 - yard line , setting up a 29 - yard field goal by Mare to tie the game . With 1 : 15 left in the second quarter , Hasslebeck launched a 45 - yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley , giving Seattle their first lead of the game at 24 – 17 . But a 40 - yard reception by Devery Henderson helped the Saints drive to the Seattle 3 - yard line where Hartley made his second field goal to cut the score to 24 – 20 as time expired in the half . This was only the second playoff game in which both teams scored at least 20 points in the first two quarters . The Seahawks increased their lead to 31 – 20 on their opening drive of the second half , as Hasslebeck threw an 18 - yard completion to Obomanu and finished the drive with a 38 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams . Then after forcing a punt , Mare kicked a 39 - yard field goal to make the score 34 – 20 with 9 : 54 left in the quarter . The Seahawks got a chance to build a three - score lead after stopping Jones for no gain on fourth down and 1 on the Saints ' 37 - yard line , but they could only gain a few yards with their next drive , and a delay of game penalty on fourth down pushed them out of field goal range . New Orleans got the ball back at their 13 - yard line following Jon Ryan ' s punt , and mounted an 83 - yard drive that ended with Jones ' second touchdown run of the game , making the score 34 – 27 with 13 : 11 left in regulation . Then they forced a three - and - out and got the ball back with good field position on their 44 - yard line with Lance Moore ' s 8 - yard punt return . On the second play of their ensuing drive , Brees threw a short pass to Jones , who took it 33 yards to the Seattle 23 . But several plays later , Seattle ' s defense halted the drive at the 3 - yard line , where the Saints settled for Hartley ' s third field goal to cut the score to 34 – 30 . After an exchange of punts , Seattle got the ball with 4 : 20 left in the game . On the first play of the drive , Lynch was stuffed for no gain . But on the next play , he took off for a 67 - yard touchdown run in which he broke seven tackles en route to the end zone . The crowd in Seattle was so loud during the run that local seismographs recorded it as a small earthquake . With 1 : 52 left , Brees struck back with a 6 - yard touchdown pass to Henderson , but the 2 - point conversion failed , keeping the score at 41 – 36 . Then Carlson sealed the victory by recovering Hartley ' s onside kick attempt , enabling Seattle to run out the rest of the clock . Brees finished with 39 of 60 completions for 404 yards and two touchdowns . His 39 completions set a postseason record . Jones , who became the first player ever to score a touchdown in the postseason against a team that had cut him in the regular season , rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 6 passes for 61 yards . Hasselbeck completed 22 of 35 passes for 271 yards and 4 touchdowns with 1 interception . Lynch added 131 rushing yards and a touchdown for Seattle , who had not had a 100 - yard rusher in any of their regular season games . AFC : New York Jets 17 , Indianapolis Colts 16 . As he had done several times before , Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri gave his team a fourth quarter lead with less than a minute remaining by making a clutch field goal . But this time it was not enough , as New York managed to avenge their previous season loss to Indianapolis in the AFC title game by winning on a Nick Folk field goal as time expired in the game . The first quarter was scoreless as every drive in it by both teams ended with a punt . The game remained scoreless until just over 5 minutes remained in the half , when Colts quarterback Peyton Manning threw a 57 - yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garçon . New York responded with a long drive to the Colts ' 19 - yard line , but with less than a minute left , defensive back Justin Tryon intercepted a pass from Mark Sanchez in the end zone to keep them scoreless going into halftime . New York managed to tie the game on their opening drive , starting with Antonio Cromartie ' s 41 - yard kickoff return to the 37 - yard line . The Jets subsequently drove 63 yards in 10 plays , featuring a 20 - yard reception by tight end Dustin Keller , on the way to a 1 - yard touchdown run by LaDainian Tomlinson . Indianapolis countered with a 9 - play drive to the New York 29 - yard line , with Manning completing a 23 - yard pass to Blair White and Joseph Addai rushing for 14 yards . Vinatieri finished the drive with a 47 - yard field goal to give them a 3 - point lead . But the Jets responded with a 17 - play , 87 - yard drive that consumed almost 10 minutes and featured three third down conversions . Tomlinson capped off the drive with his second 1 - yard touchdown run to make the score 14 – 10 . With 5 : 22 left in the game , Vinatieri ' s 32 - yard field goal cut the Colts ' deficit to one point . Indianapolis ' defense subsequently forced a punt after three plays , but a running into the punter penalty against them kept the drive going , allowing New York to take more time off the clock and forcing the Colts to use two timeouts . Indianapolis got the ball back with 2 : 36 left in the game , and retook the lead with a 48 - yard drive as Manning completed two passes to tight end Jacob Tamme for gains of 15 and 11 yards , along with a 12 - yard completion to White . At the end of the drive , Vinatieri made a 50 - yard field goal to give the Colts a 2 - point lead with 53 seconds left in regulation . However the Jets stormed back to drive for the winning score , as Cromartie returned the ensuing kickoff 47 yards to the 46 - yard line . After that , Sanchez completed passes to Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes for gains of 9 and 11 yards . Then after a 2 - yard run by Tomlinson , he completed an 18 - yard pass to Edwards , who made a leaping catch near the sidelines and managed to keep both feet in bounds at the Colts ' 14 - yard line with 29 seconds left on the clock . After letting the clock run down to three seconds , New York called their final timeout and sent Folk out to kick a 32 - yard field goal , which sailed through the uprights as time expired to win the game for the Jets . Manning finished 18 of 26 for 221 yards and a touchdown . His top target was Garçon , who caught five passes for 112 yards and a touchdown . Reggie Wayne , the Colts ' leading receiver in the regular season , was completely shut down while being covered by Darrelle Revis , held to just one reception for one yard . Tomlinson rushed for 82 yards and two touchdowns while also catching 4 passes for 17 yards , while running back Shonn Greene added another 70 yards on the ground . This turned out to be the last game Peyton Manning would play in a Colts uniform , as he missed the entire 2011 season with a neck injury and will be released in March 2012 . Sunday , January 9 , 2011 . AFC : Baltimore Ravens 30 , Kansas City Chiefs 7 . Baltimore dominated the game on both sides of the ball , massively outgaining Kansas City in total yards ( 390 to 161 ) , first downs ( 26 to 8 ) , and time of possession ( 44 : 44 to 18 : 16 ) The Chiefs , who only lost 14 turnovers all year , turned the ball over five times and went home with their seventh consecutive playoff loss . Their losing steak has covered 17 years , four different coaches , and two different owners . Baltimore took the opening kickoff and drove 64 yards to a first down at the Chiefs 1 - yard line , with Joe Flacco completing a 27 - yard pass to Anquan Boldin and three passes to tight end Todd Heap for 32 yards . But they were stuffed twice for no gain and then Flacco ' s incomplete pass forced them to settle for a field goal from Billy Cundiff . The Ravens quickly forced a punt , but several plays into their next drive Chiefs linebacker Tamba Hali sacked Flacco and forced a fumble , which he recovered on the Baltimore 46 . Following a 5 - yard scramble by Matt Cassel , Jamaal Charles ' 41 - yard touchdown romp gave his team a 7 – 3 lead . It was the longest touchdown run ever allowed by the Ravens in the postseason . Later in the second quarter , the Ravens retook the lead with an 80 - yard scoring drive . Ray Rice finished it with a 9 - yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 10 – 7 lead with 19 seconds left before halftime . In the second half , Baltimore completely took over the game , adding 20 more unanswered points and holding Charles , who rushed for over 80 yards in the first half , to negative yardage in the last two quarters . Kansas City gained just 25 total yards in the entire half . On the fourth play of the opening second half drive , Cassel threw an interception to safety Haruki Nakamura . Kansas City managed to get the ball back when Charles forced and recovered a fumble from Nakamura during the return , but their second attempt at a drive fared no better and ended with a turnover on downs at the Ravens 38 - yard line . Baltimore then drove to the Kansas City 11 - yard line where Cundiff made his second field goal of the game . Then Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis forced a fumble while tackling Dexter McCluster that cornerback Chris Carr recovered on the Chiefs 17 - yard line , setting up Cundiff ' s third field goal to increase their lead to 16 – 7 . Just two plays into their next drive , Kansas City lost another turnover when Cassel threw an interception to Dawan Landry , which led to Flacco ' s 4 - yard touchdown pass to Boldin . Then after a three and out , the Ravens put the game away by mounting a 10 minute scoring drive that ended with Willis McGahee ' s 25 - yard touchdown burst with 4 : 26 left in the game , making the final score 30 – 7 Flacco finished with 25 of 34 completions for 265 yards and two touchdowns . He became the first Raven ever to throw multiple touchdown passes in a playoff game . Heap had a career high 10 receptions for 106 yards , setting the franchise record for receptions in a postseason game . Linebacker Terrell Suggs led the Ravens defense with four tackles and two sacks . Cassel was held to just 9 of 18 completions for 70 yards with 3 interceptions , and Dwayne Bowe , the team ' s top receiver with 1 , 162 yards and an NFL - leading 15 touchdown catches during the season , did not have any receptions in the game . NFC : Green Bay Packers 21 , Philadelphia Eagles 16 . Green Bay defensive back Tramon Williams ' interception in the end zone sealed the Packers victory with 33 seconds left in the game . Green Bay never trailed during the entire game , and got big performances from Aaron Rodgers , who threw for 180 yards and three touchdowns , and James Starks , who rushed for 123 yards , which was more than his entire regular season total . Philadelphia got an early scoring opportunity when they recovered a muffed punt at the Packers 41 - yard line . But their drive was halted at the 23 and ended with no points when David Akers missed a 41 - yard field goal attempt . Later on , the Packers drive 68 yards in 10 plays , featuring a 27 - yard run by Starks . With 8 seconds left in the quarter , Rodgers threw a 7 - yard touchdown pass to reserve tight end Tom Crabtree . In the second quarter , Williams ' 8 - yard punt return gave his team the ball at their 43 - yard line , and they drove for another touchdown , scoring with Rodgers ' 9 - yard pass to James Jones . Getting the ball back with just over 5 minutes left , Philadelphia quarterback Michael Vick completed a 44 - yard pass to Jeremy Maclin and rushed for 14 yards to set up a 29 - yard field goal by Akers with 1 : 15 left in the half , making the score 14 – 3 . The Eagles scored quickly in the second half , taking advantage of Darryl Tapp ' s fumble recovery while sacking Rogers on the Packers 24 - yard line . One play later , Vick cut the score to 14 – 10 with a touchdown pass to Jason Avant . But Rodgers led his team back , completing two passes to Donald Driver for 26 yards and a 16 - yarder to fullback John Kuhn before finishing the drive with a 16 - yard touchdown pass to Brandon Jackson . Near the end of the quarter , the Eagles mounted a drive to the Packers 16 - yard line , but came up empty when Akers missed another field goal , this one from 34 yards . With 8 : 50 left in the game , Vick completed 5 of 8 passes for 68 yards on a 75 - yard touchdown drive , scoring on a fourth down 1 - yard run . On a two point conversion attempt , Vick completed a pass to tight end Brent Celek , but it was negated by a penalty against him for putting a foot out of bounds before he came back to catch the ball and their second attempt was incomplete , keeping the score at 21 – 16 . Philadelphia had to use up all their timeouts on the Packers ensuring drive , but got the ball back with 1 : 45 left in the game . Receptions by DeSean Jackson and Riley Cooper for gains of 28 and 11 yards moved the ball to the Green Bay 24 - yard line . But with 33 seconds left , Williams intercepted a pass intended for Cooper in the end zone to put the game away . Vick finished with 290 passing yards and a touchdown , with one interception , and added 33 yards and another score on the ground . Divisional playoffs . Saturday , January 15 , 2011 . AFC : Pittsburgh Steelers 31 , Baltimore Ravens 24 . Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger ' s 58 - yard completion to Antonio Brown set up Rashard Mendenhall ' s game winning 2 - yard touchdown run with 1 : 33 left in the game . Despite the game ' s high score , it was actually a defensive battle , with both teams combining for just 389 yards and scoring most of their points off turnovers . Roethlisberger was sacked 6 times , and Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was sacked 5 . Meanwhile , the Ravens were held to just 126 yards and were buried under a mountain of turnovers , penalties , and dropped passes . After forcing the Ravens to punt on the opening drive , Pittsburgh drove 80 yards on the way to Mendenhall ' s 1 - yard touchdown run , assisted by a 37 - yard pass interference penalty on Baltimore defensive back Josh Wilson . But the Ravens countered with a 68 - yard scoring drive , aided by a 33 - yard pass interference penalty on Pittsburgh ' s Anthony Madison . Ray Rice finished the drive with a 14 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . Then two plays into the Steelers next drive , Roethlisberger was hit by Terrell Suggs as he pulled his arm back to throw a pass , resulting in a fumble . Nearly all the players on both teams thought it was an incomplete pass since the ball went forward and headed back to their huddles , but Ravens lineman Cory Redding realized the play was still ongoing and returned the ball 13 yards for a touchdown . In the second quarter , Ravens safety Ed Reed recovered a fumble from Mendenhall at the Steelers 16 - yard line , setting up Flacco ' s 4 - yard touchdown pass to Todd Heap that gave them a 21 – 7 lead . Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Baltimore 25 - yard line , but came up empty when Shaun Suisham missed a 43 - yard field goal attempt with 25 seconds left in the half . However , the Steelers dominated the third quarter , forcing three turnovers and holding the Ravens to negative yardage . Less than five minutes into the quarter , Rice lost a fumble while being tackled by Ryan Clark , and linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered it on the Baltimore 23 - yard line . After a 14 - yard run by Mendenhall , Roethlisberger threw a 9 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Heath Miller . Then after an exchange of punts , Clark intercepted a pass from Flacco and returned it 17 yards to the Ravens 25 - yard line . Mendenhall started the drive with a 13 - yard run , and Reothlisberger finished it with a 8 - yard third down touchdown pass to Hines Ward , tying the game at 21 . Just two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Flacco fumble a snap and Steelers lineman Brett Keisel recovered it at the Baltimore 23 . This time the Steelers were unable to get a touchdown , as Roethlisberger was sacked by Suggs on third down and six after driving inside the 10 - yard line , but Suisham kicked a 35 - yard field goal to give Pittsburgh the first lead with 12 : 15 left in regulation . Later on , Baltimore ' s Lardarius Webb returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown , only to have it called back by a holding penalty on Marcus Smith . Still , his return gave them good field position on the Steelers 29 - yard line . On the first play of the drive , Flacco completed a 21 - yard pass to Heap . But over the next three plays , Baltimore rushers were stuffed twice and then receiver Anquan Boldin dropped a pass in the end zone , forcing them to settle for Billy Cundiff ' s field goal to tie the score with 3 : 54 remaining in the game . David Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to the 35 - yard line , and Pittsburgh retook the lead with a 65 - yard drive featuring three key third down conversions . After starting out with two incompletions , Roethleberger threw a 12 - yard pass to Ward on third down and ten . Then Roethlisberger was sacked for a 9 - yard loss by Redding and Paul Kruger and threw another incompletion , bringing up third down and 19 with 2 : 07 to go . On the next play , Roethlisberger dropped back and launched a 58 - yard bomb to Brown at the 4 - yard line . After a defensive holding penalty moved the ball to the 1 , the Ravens defense kept Mendenhall out of the end zone for two more plays . But on third down , he scored on a 2 - yard touchdown run to give the Steelers a 31 – 24 lead with 1 : 33 remaining in regulation . Le ' Ron McClain returned Suisham ' s squib kick 12 yards to the Steelers 48 - yard line , giving Baltimore a chance to drive the tying touchdown . But their offense was unable to move the ball . After two incompletions and an 8 - yard sack by Ziggy Hood , receiver T . J . Houshmandzadeh dropped a potential first down catch , ending any chance of a comeback . Roethlisberger completed 19 of 32 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns . Steelers linebacker James Harrison recorded 5 tackles , two assists , and three sacks . Suggs finished with five tackles , three sacks , and a forced fumble . With this win , Pittsburgh advanced to their fourth AFC championship game since 2004 . NFC : Green Bay Packers 48 , Atlanta Falcons 21 . The Packers blew out Atlanta by racking up 442 total yards , 28 first downs , and a franchise playoff record 48 points . Aaron Rodgers was nearly perfect , completing 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns , while adding another score on the ground . Green Bay never punted the ball , and got a big performance from defensive back Tramon Williams , who picked off two passes from Matt Ryan and returned one of them 70 yards for a touchdown . But early in the game , it seemed things would go in Atlanta ' s favor . After Michael Koenen ' s 33 - yard punt pinned the Packers back at their own 8 - yard line , Rodgers threw a short pass to Greg Jennings , who took off for a 30 - yard gain . But he fumbled the ball after being hit from behind by Stephen Nicholas and defensive back Brent Grimes recovered the ball at the Green Bay 48 - yard line . On the Falcons ensuing drive , a 22 - yard reception by Michael Jenkins and a fourth down conversion run by Ovie Mughelli set up a 12 - yard touchdown run by Michael Turner . Green Bay responded with an 81 - yard scoring drive that took nearly 8 minutes . Rodgers completed 7 of 7 passes for 48 yards on the drive , the last one a 6 - yard touchdown toss to Jordy Nelson , who caught the ball near the sidelines and just managed to stretch the ball into the pylon while being shoved out of bounds . However , Atlanta quickly retook the lead when Eric Weems returned Mason Crosby ' s kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown , the longest scoring play in NFL playoff history . But the Packers suddenly stormed back with 35 unanswered points . Rodgers quickly completed two passes to Jennings for 22 yards and then hit James Jones for a 34 - yard gain to the Falcons 16 - yard line . Two plays later , fullback John Kuhn scored a 1 - yard touchdown run to tie the game . Atlanta responded with a drive to the Packers 19 - yard line . But on the next play , Charles Woodson sacked Ryan for a 7 - yard loss . Then on third down , Williams stepped in front of a pass intended for Jenkins and made a leaping interception in the end zone . Rodgers took over and went back to work , completing 6 consecutive passes on an 80 - yard scoring drive that ended with his 20 - yard touchdown completion to Jones , giving the Packers a 21 – 14 lead with 42 seconds left before halftime . Aided by two pass interference penalties against Green Bay , Atlanta drove to the Packers 26 - yard line . But once again the defense prevented a score . First linebacker Clay Matthews sacked Ryan for a 9 - yard loss . Rather than attempt a 50 - yard field goal , the Falcons tried one last play to move the ball closer . But Williams intercepted Ryan ' s pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown as time expired in the half . In the second half the Packers picked up right where they left off . Rodgers was sacked by John Abraham for a 10 - yard loss on the first play . But it didn ' t stop Rodgers from completing 5 of 6 passes for 56 yards on an 80 - yard scoring drive that ended with his 7 - yard touchdown run , making the score 35 – 14 . Atlanta was forced to a three - and - out on their next drive after a Green Bay replay challenge overruled a first down catch by Jenkins , and Koenen ' s punt went just 21 yards to midfield . Green Bay subsequently drove 50 yards and scored with a Rodgers ' 7 - yard pass to Kuhn . This time , the Falcons finally managed to respond . Ryan completed seven consecutive passes on their next drive , the last one a 6 - yard touchdown throw to Roddy White . But Green Bay dominated the rest of the game , forcing two more turnovers that were both converted into field goals by Crosby , making the final score 48 – 21 . Jennings finished with 8 receptions for 101 yards , while Nelson added 8 receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown . This game gave Rodgers ten touchdown passes in his first three playoff games , setting an NFL postseason record . Matthews had three tackles and two sacks . Weems had six kickoff returns for 195 yards . Turner , who rushed for over 1 , 300 yards during the season , was held to just 39 yards on 10 carries . Sunday , January 16 , 2011 . NFC : Chicago Bears 35 , Seattle Seahawks 24 . Chicago dominated the game from start to finish , outgaining Seattle in total yards 437 to 276 and scoring 28 unanswered points over the first three quarters . After forcing Seattle to a three - and - out on the opening drive , Chicago scored on their third play of the game when tight end Greg Olsen ran past safety Lawyer Milloy , caught a pass from Jay Cutler , and took it 58 yards to the end zone . Later in the quarter , Bears receiver Devin Hester returned a punt 26 yards to midfield . Following a 33 - yard reception by Olsen and a fourth down conversion run by Cutler , Chester Taylor scored on a 1 - yard touchdown run . After forcing a punt , Chicago got the ball back on their own 37 - yard line early in the second quarter . Cutler started the drive with a 22 - yard completion to Olsen , and later finished it with a 6 - yard touchdown run to give the Bears a 21 – 0 lead . In the second half , Chicago increased their lead to 28 – 0 with Cutler ' s second touchdown run at the end of a 14 - play , 70 - yard drive . After being completely dominated up to this point , Seattle managed to mount a comeback . First , Leon Washington ' s 62 - yard kickoff return set up a 30 - yard field goal by Olindo Mare . Then Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry intercepted a pass from Bears running back Matt Forte and returned it 23 yards to the Bears 33 - yard line . Aided by a defensive holding penalty on Tim Jennings that nullified his interception , Seattle cut the score to 28 – 10 with Matt Hasselbeck ' s 2 - yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams . But after forcing a punt , Tommie Harris sacked Hasselbeck on third down at his own 13 - yard line , and Jon Ryan ' s punt went just 35 yards to the Seattle 48 . Two plays later , Cutler threw a 39 - yard touchdown pass to tight end Kellen Davis , putting Chicago up 35 – 10 . With less than five minutes remaining in the game , Seattle refused to give up . Hasselbeck completed six consecutive passes on the next drive , the last a 17 - yard touchdown strike to Williams . After forcing a punt , Hasslebeck completed a 46 - yarder to Benjamin Obomanu and followed it up with a 9 - yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley , bringing the score to 35 – 24 . But Chicago put the game away by recovering Mare ' s onside kick with 1 : 25 left in the game . Cutler finished his first career playoff game 15 of 28 for 274 yards and 2 touchdowns , with no interceptions . He also rushed for 43 yards and two scores . His 43 rushing yards were the most by a Bears quarterback in the postseason since Sid Luckman in 1943 . He also joined Otto Graham as one of two players ever to run and throw for multiple touchdowns in a playoff game . Olsen had three receptions for 113 yards , all in the first half . Chicago running back Matt Forté rushed for 80 yards , caught three passes for 54 , and threw one pass which was intercepted . Harris had two sacks , which were his only tackles of the game . Hasselbeck threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns . Stokley had eight catches for 85 yards and a score . AFC : New York Jets 28 , New England Patriots 21 . Mark Sanchez completed 16 of 25 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Jets to victory , avenging a 45 – 3 loss to New England in December . On the Patriots first drive , Tom Brady threw his first interception since Week 6 of the regular season , which linebacker David Harris picked off and returned 58 yards before tight end Alge Crumpler made a touchdown - saving tackle at the 12 - yard line . But New York could not get any points off the turnover , as they were unable to get a first down and Nick Folk missed a 30 - yard field goal attempt . Several plays into New England ' s next drive , Brady completed a 28 - yard pass to Crumpler at the Jets ' 12 - yard line . But after a 5 - yard run by Danny Woodhead , Crumpler dropped a pass in the end zone and then Brady was sacked by Shaun Ellis , forcing them to settle for Shayne Graham ' s 34 - yard field goal to give them a 3 – 0 lead . In the second quarter , a third down sack of Brady by Drew Coleman forced New England to punt from their own 16 , and Jerricho Cotchery returned the ball to the Patriots 49 - yard line . A few plays later , Sanchez ' 37 - yard completion to Braylon Edwards set up his 7 - yard touchdown pass to LaDainian Tomlinson . Later on , New England attempted a fake punt with a direct snap to safety Patrick Chung on fourth down and four . But Chung fumbled the snap and was tackled on his own 25 - yard line , and the Jets converted the turnover with Sanchez ' 15 - yard touchdown pass to Edwards with 33 seconds left in the half , making the score 14 – 3 . Late in the third quarter , New England drove 80 yards in 11 plays , with Brady completing a 37 - yard pass to Rob Gronkowski and two passes to Deion Branch for 28 yards on the way to a 2 - yard touchdown pass to Crumpler . Then Sammy Morris scored a 2 - point conversion run , cutting their deficit to 14 – 11 . But the Jets quickly countered , with Sanchez throwing a short pass to Cotchery , who took it 58 yards to the Patriots 13 - yard line . Two plays later , Sanchez threw a high pass for Santonio Holmes , who managed to catch the ball and land in the end zone while falling out of bounds , giving New York a 10 - point lead two minutes into the fourth quarter . After the kickoff , New England drove to the Jets 34 - yard line with an eight - minute drive , but then faced fourth down and 13 . Rather than risk a 52 - yard field goal attempt , they attempted to get the first down , but Branch dropped a pass from Brady and the Patriots turned the ball over . New England ' s defense then made a key defensive stand , forcing a quick three - and - out , and Julian Edelman returned Steve Weatherford ' s punt 41 yards to the New York 43 - yard line before being tackled by Weatherford himself . Brady then led New England to the 17 - yard line where Graham made his second field goal to cut their deficit to 7 points . However , Jets defensive back Antonio Cromartie recovered Graham ' s onside kick attempt and returned it 23 yards to the Patriots 20 - yard line . Shonn Greene then scored with a 16 - yard run , making the score 28 – 14 with 1 : 41 left in the game . Brandon Tate returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the 41 - yard line , sparking a 59 - yard scoring drive that ended with Brady ' s 13 - yard touchdown pass to Branch with 24 seconds left . But Graham ' s second attempt at an onside kick also failed , ending any chance of a miracle comeback . Brady finished the game 29 of 45 for 299 yards and two touchdowns , with one interception . His one pick ended his NFL record of consecutive passes without an interception at 340 . Cotchery had five receptions for 96 yards ; Harris had nine tackles , three assists , and an interception ; while Ellis added 5 tackles and two sacks . With this win , the Jets advanced to their second consecutive AFC championship game in Sanchez ' first two years as a starter . Conference championships . Sunday , January 23 , 2011 . As per an annual rotation used by the NFL since 1997 and made official in 2002 , the NFC Championship Game was the first game played on January 23 at 3 : 00 p . m . EST , followed by the AFC Championship Game at 6 : 30 p . m . EST . NFC Championship Game : Green Bay Packers 21 , Chicago Bears 14 . Green Bay ' s defense knocked Chicago starting quarterback Jay Cutler out of the game and intercepted three passes , one of which was returned for a score , and another which ended a last minute drive for a potential tying touchdown . With this win , the Packers became the first NFC # 6 seed to advance the Super Bowl by defeating the top three seeded teams on the road . Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers opened up the game with two completions to Greg Jennings for gains of 26 and 22 yards . A few plays later , he threw a 22 - yard completion to Jordy Nelson at the Bears 2 - yard line , setting up his 1 - yard touchdown run to give the Packers an early 7 – 0 lead . Later on , Tim Masthay 32 - yard punt pinned Chicago back on their own 2 - yard line . The Bears were unable to move the ball , and Tramon Williams returned Brad Maynard ' s punt 6 yards to the 44 . Rodgers then completed passes to Brandon Jackson and Nelson for gains of 16 and 15 yards on the way to a 4 - yard touchdown run by James Starks . With time running out in the half , Rodgers threw a pass that was intercepted by Lance Briggs and returned to the Chicago 43 . But Cutler returned the favor with an interception to Sam Shields and the score remained 14 – 0 going into halftime . Cutler was injured on the play and although he returned for a few plays in the third quarter , he ended up having to sit the rest of the second half out . After forcing Chicago to punt on the opening second half drive , Green Bay drove to the Bears 6 - yard line . But linebacker Brian Urlacher ended the drive by intercepting Rodgers and returning the ball 39 yards before Rodgers made a touchdown saving tackle on the 45 . However , Chicago could not take advantage of the turnover and had to punt . Cutler ' s replacement , Todd Collins , ended up being ineffective , throwing four consecutive incompletions before being benched in favor of Caleb Hanie with less than a minute left in the third quarter . Early in the fourth quarter , Hanie ' s 32 - yard completion to Johnny Knox moved the ball to the Packers 1 - yard line , setting up a touchdown run by Chester Taylor that cut the score to 14 – 7 . But three drives later , Hanie threw a short pass over the middle that was intercepted by 338 - pound defensive tackle B . J . Raji and returned 18 yards for a touchdown . Hanie responded with four consecutive completions on the Bears next drive and finished it with a 35 - yard touchdown throw to Earl Bennett , making the score 21 – 14 . Then after forcing a punt , Chicago got the ball back with 2 : 53 remaining in the game and managed to drive to the Packers 29 - yard line . But Green Bay ' s defense managed to hang on for the win , ending the drive with Shields ' second interception with 37 seconds left in regulation . Jennings caught 8 passes for 130 yards . Bears running back Matt Forte rushed for 70 yards and caught 10 passes for 90 . Shields had 4 tackles , 2 interceptions , a sack , and a forced fumble . Urlacher had 9 tackles , a sack , and an interception . In possibly the NFL ’ s first player - on - player social media attack , Cutler was being criticized for not returning within seconds after leaving the game instead of waiting for explanations in postgame media sessions . Bears coach Lovie Smith later stated that the choice was not Cutler ' s decision . Smith made the decision to bench Cutler after consulting the medical and training staff . An MRI revealed the following day that he had sprained his MCL . AFC Championship Game : Pittsburgh Steelers 24 , New York Jets 19 . Pittsburgh jumped to an early 24 – 0 lead and held off a desperate comeback rally to earn their third Super Bowl bid in the last six years . Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall rushed 8 times for 28 yards on their opening drive , which took over 9 minutes off the clock and ended with his 1 - yard touchdown run . Then he rushed four times for 22 yards and caught an 18 - yard pass on a drive to the Jets 32 - yard line . Linebacker Bryan Thomas ended the drive with an interception , but the Steelers forced a punt and drove for another score , aided by Mendenhall ' s 35 - yard burst . Shaun Suisham finished the drive with a 20 - yard field goal to make the score 10 – 0 . Following another punt , Ben Roethlisberger completed a 24 - yard pass to tight end Heath Miller , a 20 - yarder to Emmanuel Sanders , and a 14 - yard throw to Mendenhall on the way to a 2 - yard touchdown run . Two plays after the ensuing kickoff , Ike Taylor sacked Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez on a defensive back blitz and forced a fumble , which cornerback William Gay returned 19 yards for a touchdown , increasing their lead to 24 – 0 with just over a minute left in the half . This time New York managed to respond , with Sanchez completing 4 passes for 39 yards on a drive that ended with a 42 - yard field goal by Nick Folk , cutting the score to 24 – 3 going into halftime . New York took the second half kickoff and scored with just five plays . Shonn Greene started off the drive with a 23 - yard run , while Sanchez finished it with a pair of the completions to Santonio Holmes , the first for 16 yards , and the second a 45 - yard touchdown completion . Pittsburgh responded with a drive to the Jets 37 - yard line , but turned the ball over when safety Brodney Pool intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger inside the 10 . After an exchange of punts , the Jets converted two fourth downs on a 17 - play drive to a first down on the Steelers 2 - yard line . But Pittsburgh ' s defense made a key goal line stand . First Green tried to run up the middle , but was stuffed at the 1 - yard line . Then Sanchez threw an incomplete pass and another that was batted down by linebacker LaMarr Woodley . On fourth down , LaDanian Tomlinson tried to run through the middle , but Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton tackled him for no gain , turning the ball over . On the next play , Roethlisberger fumbled a snap and was downed in the end zone for a safety . New York then drove 58 yards following the free kick and scored with Sanchez ' 4 - yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery , cutting their deficit to 24 – 19 with 3 : 06 left in the game . But the Steelers managed to pick up two key first downs on their next drive with a 14 - yard reception by Miller and a 14 - yard catch by Antonio Brown on third down and six with less than two minutes left , enabling them to run out the rest of the clock . Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown , while also catching two passes for 32 . Sanchez threw for 233 yards and two touchdowns . Pool had six tackles and an interception .