Steelers Throwback Thursday: Mark Sanchez mauled by Ike Taylor; gives way to “Big Play” Will Gay

Steel City Underground presents “Steelers Throwback Thursday” featuring plays from recent seasons which you may have forgotten about! Now we’re “bringing them back!”

A 12-4 regular season finish in the 2010 season meant the Pittsburgh Steelers secured a bye, but didn’t have home field advantage throughout the playoffs, as an anticipated matchup with the New England Patriots loomed.

That matchup never happened, as the unthinkable happened: a New York Jets franchise led by head coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Mark Sanchez defeated the Patriots in the Divisional Round, switching the intended location for the AFC Championship to Heinz Field.

The Steelers were primed and ready following a slugfest themselves one week earlier with their own division rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Now they would face the Jets to see who would square off in Super Bowl XLV.

The game started all-Pittsburgh. The Steelers would jump out to a huge lead, scoring 24 unanswered points before halftime, capped off by this double DB blitz by cornerbacks Ike Taylor and William Gay.

Situated on their own 26-yard line, the Jets faced a 3rd-and-17. Their first play (following a Ben Roethlisberger touchdown scramble that took the score to 17-0 Steelers) would see Sanchez sacked by LaMarr Woodley for a loss of seven, while a second down incompletion forced a long third down conversion attempt.

Unfortunately for Mark Sanchez, he would never see the blitz coming from his blindside as he dropped back to pass, getting nailed just as he was winding up to throw the ball… which would fly awkwardly in the air and be picked up by “Big Play” Will Gay for a Steelers defensive touchdown!

While the fireworks pretty much ended for the Steelers on this play, the big lead they jumped out to early in the game would hold up as they’d win the Lamar Hunt Trophy in a 24-19 finish and go on to face the Packers in the Super Bowl.