COLLEEN MARTYN
Sports Writer

With less than two weeks left in the 2009-10 NFL post-season, it is tough to predict who will make it to Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens on Feb. 7 for Super Bowl XLIV.

The American and National Football Conference finals on Jan. 23 will pit the Indianapolis Colts against the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings against the New Orleans Saints.

Here’s a look back at how these four teams got to where they are at and how the AFC/NFC Championship will stack up.

AFC

When the New York Jets were set against the Cincinnati Bengals during the Jan. 9 quarter-final match up, a missed fourth quarter 28-yard field goal attempt and numerous overthrows by Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer resulted in a 24-14 Jets victory.

Jets rookie running back Shonn Greene picked up 135 yards and a 39-yard touchdown in the playoff win.

The following week, on Jan. 17 the Jets took on the San Diego Chargers and ended the Chargers’ 11 game winning streak by a score of 17-14.

Greene once again emerged as the star, rushing 23 times for 128 yards and a touchdown. His 53-yard score was not only the longest post-season run in Jets history, but also gave New York the lead with 7:26 left.

It will be the first AFC Championship for the Jets since 1998.

The Baltimore Ravens came away with a 33-14 win over the New England Patriots on Jan. 10 but thanks to the Indianapolis Colts that is as far as the Baltimore squad would get.

When the Colts and Ravens collided on Jan. 16 in the second round of the playoffs, victory was sealed for the Colts after Indianapolis’s Antoine Bethea intercepted a ball meant for the Ravens’ Joe Flacco on the Colts’ two-yard line.

Peyton Manning was superb, as per usual, and completed 30 of his 44 passes in the 20-3 trouncing. The Colts and the Jets will now face off at the AFC championship on Jan. 24 to decide which team will represent the tightly knit conference in the Super Bowl.

NFC

In the NFC quarter-final, the Minnesota Vikings faced an unexpected opponent in the Dallas Cowboys after Dallas ruined the Philadelphia Eagles’ post-season ambitions at the Jan. 9 wild card game. The Cowboys surprised fans by winning their first playoff game since 1996 in their defeat of the Eagles with a stunning 34-14 win. In the victory over the Eagles, Dallas’s Felix Jones sprinted 73 yards for what was the longest touchdown run in franchise history.

However, the quarter-final game ended in heartbreak for Dallas when the Vikings crushed the ”˜Boys in a 34-3 win.

Any chance of a Dallas win vanished after veteran Vikings quarterback Brett Favre connected with Sidney Rice for Rice’s third touchdown of the game with 7:41 left.

If the Vikings can pull out a win over the New Orleans Saints, it will be the first time in almost three decades that they have made a Super Bowl appearance — about the same number of years since the aging Favre has played in the coveted championship. Actually, it’s only been 12 years and the 40-year-old Favre has become the oldest quarterback to start and win a post-season NFL match.

The final overtime between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals on Jan. 10 proved that there are no guarantees in the NFL playoffs. It was a true gridiron battle that was summarized by a close 51-45 Arizona triumph.

When it came time for the Saints to face the Cardinals, New Orleans made it very clear they were not going to allow Arizona any chance of continuing on.

With five touchdowns in the first half, the Saints’ Reggie Bush shut down a Cardinal attempt on a 46-yard touchdown run, preventing Kurt Warner & Co. from staying on the field. Bush also managed to return a punt 83 yards for a touchdown with 6:42 left in the third quarter and with kicker Garrett Hartley’s extra point, the Saints effectively crushed the Cardinals 45-14.

Jan. 24 will finally settle the debate of whether the Vikings or the Saints will become NFC champions and advance to Super Bowl XLIV.

With a 14-2 record, the Indianapolis Colts were a popular AFC pick from day one and the 13-3 Saints were anticipated to be serious Super Bowl contenders out of the NFC as well — simply put, it would not be surprising to see a Colts and Saints Super Bowl clash when Feb. 7 arrives.

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