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The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets both flexed their defensive muscles to advance to this AFC Championship Game. The Steelers beat the Ravens by an extremely deceptive score of 31-24 as they allowed only 126 total yards, while the Jets did the unthinkable by shutting down the New England offense in a 28-21 win, with the Patriots getting most of their yards on their last two garbage time possessions.

This sets up a rematch of a December 19th meeting between these teams here in Pittsburgh, won by the Jets 22-17. The AFC Conference Championship odds list the Steelers at 3.5-point favorites with a total of 38.5.

Though plenty of action will get thrown down on both sides of the Championship weekend games, there’s still coin to be made when looking at the totals. Here is our look at both of our ‘total’ calls in this week’s NFL Championship Games.

Sunday, January 23rd

Green Bay Packers (12-6) at Chicago Bears (12-5) 3:00 ET FOX

The NFL latest line on this contest is Green Bay -3½ at betting odds of -115, with the NFC Championship total set at 43½.

We went just 1-2 in out NFL Side calls in the Divisional Round, correctly calling the Packers upset of Atlanta while losing in unlucky fashion with the Ravens +3½ and coming up woefully short with the Patriots.

Sunday, January 23rd

Green Bay Packers (12-6) at Chicago Bears (12-5) 3:00 ET FOX

The NFL playoff odds for this contest is Green Bay -3½ at betting odds of -115, with the total set at 43½.

The Baltimore Ravens finally played well on both sides of the ball vs. the Chiefs in their Wild Card Playoff win at Kansas City in their best game in over a month last week, while the Pittsburgh Steelers soaked it all in on television after earning the bye week by finishing as the second seed in the AFC as North Division champions with a 12-4 record.

The NFL playoff line for this contest is Pittsburgh -3 at betting odds of -120 at home, with the betting total set at 37.

We did the splits in the NFL Wild Card Round going 2-2, correctly calling the upsets by the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers, but failing badly with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Saints vs. Seahawks ‘under’. We now look to improve on that record with our Divisional Round plays.

Saturday, January 15th

Baltimore Ravens (13-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) 4:30 ET CBS

Now that the NFL Playoffs are here, it is time to dissect the Super Bowl Future odds to see where the value lies.

The key to playing futures is to find a team that is undervalued at double-digit odds, as that always leaves open the possibility of hedging your wager down the line if you so desire, provided you are correct and your team exceeds expectations.

Well, we did not have to look far to find such a team, so here is our one and only Super Bowl future selection for 2010.

The Carolina Panthers (2-12) are coming off of just their second win of the season vs. the Arizona Cardinals while the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-4) came up short at home against the New York Jets.

The NFL betting spread for this contest is Pittsburgh -14½ with betting odds of -115 at home, with the betting total set at 37.

The Pittsburgh Steelers missed Troy Polamalu against the Jets and it showed, as a previously struggling New York offense had more success vs. the Pittsburgh defense than most teams have all year, accumulating 276 total yards including 106 on the ground, and the damage could have been worse if not for some questionable play calling late in the game.

The New York Jets (9-4) remained in a funk last week after getting destroyed by New England the previous Monday, as they lost at home 10-6 to the Dolphins, while the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) were not exactly exhilarating offensively themselves in a lackluster 23-7 win over the Bengals.

The NFL betting line for this contest is Pittsburgh -6 at home, with the betting total set at 35½.

The Pittsburgh Steelers failed to score an offensive touchdown vs. a banged up Cincinnati defense, as their scoring consisted of three field goals and two interceptions returned for touchdowns. Pittsburgh had no trouble moving between the 20s, as they did manage 356 total yards in the game.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens meet in Sunday Night football. The Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3) were rather fortunate to beat the Buffalo Bills in overtime last week, while the Baltimore Ravens (8-3) failed to score a point in the second half but still managing to get by Tampa Bay 17-10.

The Steelers are listed as 3-point favorites on the NFL spread and the over/under is 39.5.

We are getting in to the home-stretch of the NFL season where the teams that can truly win under pressure separate themselves from the talented teams that can’t function under pressure (ahem, Dallas). With that said, if you are going to bet on Super Bowl futures, you can get some pretty good deals if you think you know which teams have the right make up to win in high-pressure situations.