Skip to content
Eagles
Link copied to clipboard

Patriots stomp on Steelers in AFC title game

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Mike Tomlin took to calling the New England Patriots names again Sunday night in his postgame talk.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Mike Tomlin took to calling the New England Patriots names again Sunday night in his postgame talk.

"They are the champions of the AFC," the Pittsburgh Steelers coach said during his news conference. "Rightfully so."

Indeed, New England came away with a convincing 36-17 victory, tying the Steelers' fourth-worst loss in 61 postseason games, their worst in 16 AFC championship games.

It also makes them 0 for 3 against New England in championship games, all in this century, all against Tom Brady at quarterback.

Instead of heaping scorn on them as he did a week earlier when he called the Patriots a derogatory name in the locker room, Tomlin said he tipped his cap because "they played their type of ball they normally play and we didn't play the type of ball we normally play."

"We won a lot of different ways under a lot of different circumstances," Brady said. "Mental toughness is what it is all about and this team has got it. We'll see if we can write the perfect ending."

Brady and the Patriots ran out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead and then piled on in the second half. Next up: the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI on Feb. 5 in Houston.

The Steelers played conservatively on defense, rarely blitzed, and Brady chewed them up. He completed 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those were caught by someone named Chris Hogan, who also set a Patriots postseason record with nine receptions for 180 yards.

He was another no-name receiver that Brady helped make famous. On the other side, the Steelers' no-name receivers became infamous. Cobi Hamilton, who caught a late 30-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger, dropped one in the end zone and later caught a pass in the end zone that did not count because he had run out of bounds first.

Sammie Coates dropped a deep pass and did not come up with another he might have had. Eli Rogers caught a 3-yarder, fumbled and New England turned it into a touchdown. Antonio Brown was blanketed, caught seven passes for 77 yards and no touchdowns and blew off the media afterward.

"You get combat catch opportunities, you've got to make them when you're a championship-caliber team," Mike Tomlin said.

The Steelers lost Le'Veon Bell to a groin injury in the first quarter and he did not play again. Tomlin said that changed their strategy on offense but "injuries are part of the game. We didn't do a good enough job or quick enough job adapting to the circumstances."

Yet the loss of Bell - who missed the postseason the previous two years with injuries - may have had a psychological impact on his teammates.

"A lot of guys were feeling good about this game," tackle Marcus Gilbert said. "Then the whole climate changed."

Guard David DeCastro said the Patriots altered defenses once Bell left the game, preferring to defend the pass more than the run with DeAngelo Williams.

"Once he was out, they moved the safety back," DeCastro said.

It worked. Williams ran 14 times for 34 yards and the Steelers managed just 54 on the ground, although Williams ran for one of their two touchdowns. Roethlisberger completed 31 of 47 passes for 314 yards with one late interception and a TD to Cobi Hamilton. He was not sacked and had good protection but his receivers let him down with all the drops.

The Steelers wanted to attack Brady up the middle after the Houston Texans did so with some success the previous week. It did not work, except for a Javon Hargrave sack.

"They did a great job finding the blitzes,'' linebacker Ryan Shazier said. "I guess they figured we'd come up the middle" as Houston had done.

"They ran quite a bit three-man rush,'' New England coach Bill Belichick noted. "It's always easier for the quarterback when there are open receivers, throwing the ball."

No quarterback nor coach has won five Super Bowls. New England's Brady and Belichick can become the first.