Jets shock Chargers to set up Colts showdown

The Jets trailed 7-3 going into the fourth quarter but snatched the lead with a touchdown when rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez threw a short pass on the run to Dustin Keller.

Running back Shonn Greene, then gave the Jets a 17-7 lead with an explosive 53-yard touchdown run. San Diego's Nate Kaeding missed his third field goal of the day as the Chargers tried to respond.

Quarterback Philip Rivers ran through the middle from a yard out to bring the Chargers within three points, but it was too late for a team that had gone 13-3 in the regular season.

The Jets scrambled into the postseason with a 9-7 record and are now one more upset win away from a place in the Super Bowl.

But first year coach Rex Ryan said he did not consider the win, which takes his team to their first AFC Championship game since 1998, to be a shock. "Not really. We have believed the whole time, the whole year," said Ryan. "It (the win) probably wasn't the popular choice but its been old fashioned 'ground-and-pound' football and here we are."

The Jets now face a Colts team who overpowered the Baltimore Ravens in a 20-3 victory to book their appearance.

The Colts, who finished the regular season with 14 wins and two defeats for the best record in the NFL, confirmed their status as AFC top seeds.

After a tight opening quarter when the teams each fired over a field goal, NFL MVP Peyton Manning broke the game open at the end of the second period.

The Colts quarterback found wide receiver Austin Collie with a ten-yard pass for touchdown just over two minutes before half-time and then with seven seconds left before half-time he reached Reggie Wayne in the endzone with a short pass for a 17-3 lead.

A Matt Stover field goal at the start of the fourth quarter sealed the Colts' first play-off victory since beating the Chicago Bears at Super Bowl XLI in February 2007.