Patriots quarterback Tom Brady kept his perfect playoff record, now 8-0, intact as he completed 14-of-21 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns against the NFL’s top-ranked defense. And head coach Bill Belichick set a personal mark of his own by equaling head coaching legend Vince Lombardi’s mark of 9-1 in the playoffs, an all-time NFL best.
New England took advantage of some early mistakes to put the Steelers in a quick 10-0 hole… a position the Steelers did not want to be in. Pittsburgh thrives on taking the lead and grinding out the clock, but they are not well equipped for erasing big defecits.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and a rookie record 14 straight starts, was pressured into three critical interceptions and completed just 11-of-26 passes for 191 yards. The first of his three INTs set up the first score of the game, a 48-yard field-goal attempt by Adam Vinatieri.
The Patriots interior defense did a nice job of slowing the Steelers rushing attack, limiting running backs Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley to a relatively unspectacular 90 yards on 27 carries. And on a fourth-and-one at the Patriots 39-yard line on the Steelers ensuing possession, it appeared they stuffed Bettis for no gain, but just for good measure, they stripped him of the football, which was recovered by linebacker Mike Vrabel.
On the very next play, Brady connected with wide receiver Deion Branch for 60 yards and a touchdown while a stunned crowd watched in disbelief as the Patriots opened up a 10-0 lead just eight minutes into the game. Branch, who missed the regular season match-up with the Steelers, had a big day, catching four passes for 116 yards.
The Steelers got their first real opportunity late in the first quarter when a Josh Miller punt traveled just 27 yards and was downed at the Patriots 48-yard line. The drive started on a good note with a 19-yard completion to Hines Ward, but after a four-yard gain by Duce Staley on first down, the drive stalled and the Steelers were forced to settle for a 43-yard Jeff Reed field goal.
After trading punts early in the second quarter, the Patriots took over at their own 30-yard line and proceeded to march the length of the field in just five plays, capping the drive with a 9-yard strike to David Givens in the end zone. The big play of the drive came on a first down at the Patriots 41 when Brady hooked up with Deion Branch for 45 yards. Two plays later, New England was holding a 17-3 lead.
Down by two touchdowns, the Steelers faced a huge challenge to get back into the game, but with nearly half the second quarter and all the second half remaining they had plenty of time to stick with their running game that had been so effective when these two teams met in the regular season. But as the two-minute warning approached, Roethlisberger made his most critical mistake of the game.
After a four-yard run by Duce Staley moved the football inside the Patriots’ red zone, the rookie QB was picked off by Rodney Harrison, who returned it 87 yards for a touchdown. Instead of marching into New England’s end zone to cut the lead to seven, the Steelers suddenly found themselves in a 21-point hole.
Pittsburgh managed to crawl back to within 11 points early in the fourth quarter, but any hopes of a comeback were squashed when Branch scored on a 23-yard reverse mid-way through the final period and opened the score to 41-20.
The Patriots advance to meet the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX where they hope to put the finishing touches on their third Super Bowl championship in four years, a feat that has not been accomplished since the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s.
