Our game report
Final thoughts
Michael P:
What a dreadful day for the NFL… arguably the dullest in living memory.
You’ll find plenty of fans who will agree with you on that. Despite a few blips in the first half of this game, it’s been one sided and not fun unless you happen to be a Patriots fan or a Falcons fan. But I did have fun covering it today for all of you. That will do it for us here at the Guardian, at least for the day. Thanks for everyone who followed the games along with us, especially everyone who contributed. Ciao!
It’s official, the New England Patriots will be headed to the Super Bowl to face a very, very, very dangerous Atlanta Falcons team and I hope like hell that it’ll be a much better game than the ones we’ve seen today.
Patriots win 17-36
Steelers 17-36 Patriots, :38, FINAL
And Tom Brady take a knee. We’re done here.
The Patriots win!
Steelers 17-36 Patriots, 2:00, 4th quarter
Patriots take a timeout, give the ball to Blount who picks up 3 yards and we’re at the two minute warning.
Steelers 17-36 Patriots, 2:43, 4th quarter
The Steelers’ onside kick goes out of bounds. It’s gonna be Patriots ball here at the New England 48. Blount gets in some work here, taking the ball to the Pittsburgh 43.
Two point conversion (Steelers) Steelers 17-36 Patriots
Steelers 17-36 Patriots, 3:47, 4th quarter
And the Steelers pull off a successful two-point conversion. Which, well, why the heck not? It’s good practice if nothing else.
Steelers 15-36 Patriots, 3:47, 4th quarter
Roethlisberger throws to Hamilton for a 30 yard touchdown pass. It looked real pretty, if nothing else.
Steelers 9-36 Patriots, 4:30, 4th quarter
We’re in “it doesn’t really matter” territory here as far as keeping track of plays. What a lousy championship game Sunday..
It feels like the Patriots defense is perfectly content to just let Roethlisberger march down this field instead of draining the clock themselves..
Steelers 9-36 Patriots, 6:24, 4th quarter
@HunterFelt I genuinely expected a nail biter. Instead pats defense been superb and Brady doing it
— Rory Murphy (@Rory_Tealeaf) January 23, 2017
Well it looked like this would be a game for certain stretches, but nope, this one’s going to be lopsided. It’s hard not to wonder how different things would have gone if Bell hadn’t been hurt.
Steelers at their own 25.
Updated
Steelers 9-36 Patriots, 6:27, 4th quarter
The Patriots don’t make it any closer than the three yard line, so they settle for a field goal but it doesn’t really matter, they’re not going to need those extra four points.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, 9:28, 4th quarter
That’s Eric Rowe with the interception for New England. Patriots are at the Steelers 32. Hey who do you think Brady throws to here?
Yep, that’s Edelman again. He picks up 13 yards. 1st & 10 at the Pittsburgh 19.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, 10:14, 4th quarter
So what the Steelers need to-
Oh Roethlisberger has already thrown an interception. Never mind.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, 10:36, 4th quarter
Good job by the Steelers defense here, forcing a three and out, preventing them from much clock-draining.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, 12:32, 4th quarter
Cobi Hamilton gets the Steelers to the New England 6 before handing over duties to Williams who gets them to the 2.
And on 3rd & 2, Roethlisberger throws a touchdown pass to Hamilton…. BUT there’s an illegal touching penalty on him which wipes the play away.
Patriots take a timeout here, knowing that a stop could very well be the end of things here.
Well, they get it, Logan Ryan breaks up Roethlisberger’s throw to Hamilton and the Steelers come away with nada.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, end of the 3rd quarter
Roethlisberger throws a pass to Brown for a 9 yard game. They’ll start the fourth at the New England 13. That’s the good news, the bad news: the Steelers aren’t just playing against the Patriots right now, they’re playing against time itself.
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, :54, 3rd quarter
Let’s try this again Pittsburgh. They’re at their own 25 and, okay THIS will help things immensely for them. Roethlisberger with his biggest bomb of the game, throwing a 30-yard catch that takes them all the way to the New England 45.
Touchdown (Patriots) Steelers 9-33 Patriots)
Steelers 9-33 Patriots, 1:35, 3rd quarter
Converting here could be a dagger. The Pats are at the Steelers 29, but only very briefly, as The Brad/y/Edelman Connection gets them to the 10.
The Steelers really need to at least force a field go-
Or Brady can find Edelman yet again for a 10 yard touchdown1 And, well, this one could be over.
Updated
Fumble (Steelers)
Steelers 9-27 Patriots, 2:38, 3rd quarter
Steelers absolutely has to score on this possession. They start at their own 35 and…
Oh man, Roethlisberger throws to Rogers, but he fumbles it away, Kyle Van Noy has it for the Patriots! Disastrous outcome here for Pittsburgh.
Steelers 9-27 Patriots, 2:49, 3rd quarter
And once again, a big play. Once again it’s Hogan. He passes to Hogan for 39 yards, he’s already passed the 300 yard mark for the game. Blout drags nearly all of the Steelers defense to about the one yard line. They only delay the inevitable however, he gets into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point is good and the Steelers are now officially in a big hole.
Steelers 9-20 Patriots, 5:03, 3rd quarter
Patriots at their 12. They go to Lewis first, but he gets pushed back two yards. Brady-to James White picks up another five.
And we have another Brady-to-Edelman moment, as he gets 17 yards to get them to their own 37. The very next play? James Develin gets 13 yards. The Steelers just can’t stop the big plays here.
Steelers 9-20 Patriots, 6:48, 3rd quarter
After a three yard gain by Williams, Roethlisberger nearly throws a touchdown pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey, but it’s incomplete. As is his next throw.
And on that play, there’s an injury for the Steelers’ Jesse James.
Steelers 9-20 Patriots, 8:02, 3rd quarter
Patriots are on the verge of forcing another 3 and out wen Roethlisberger throws deep to Rogers, a 19 yard gain. Williams best stuffed for a yard, but Big Ben finds Brown for a 13 yard pass. They’re in NE territory now.
Steelers 9-20 Patriots, 9:55, 3rd quarter
The Steelers start at their 25.
Michael P probably speaks for a lot of NFL fans here:
Ever see a call go against Brady? This is ridiculous..fumbles and tucks.. damn, I wish I had his karma
Field goal! (Patriots) Steelers 9-20 Patriots
Steelers 9-20 Patriots, 10:04, 3rd quarter
The play is upheld. Steelers have burned a timeout here.On 1st and 10 at their own 47 they target Hogan and once again he burns the Steelers D. for 24 hards. They’re at the Pittsburgh 29 but don’t get any closer than that. They settle for a Gostkowski field goal here.
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 11:43, 3rd quarter
1st down on the their own 36. Blount gets 8 yards. Brady fumbles after picking up the first down… but he recovers it! Or does he? The Steelers are going to challenge.
Updated
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 12:42, 3rd quarter
Lewis is getting some work to start the Patriots’ first drive of the second half. Picking up 5 points. Brady throws incomplete on 2nd & 5 BUT there’s a unnecessary roughness penalty on Pittsburgh’s Ryan Shazier that will put New England on their own 36.
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 13:19, 3rd quarter
Edelman makes a fair catch at the 16 yard line.
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 13:19, 3rd quarter
Steelers start at their 31, with DeAngelo Williams replacing Bell. There’s nothing going on this drive, which stalls at the 37.
2nd half begins!
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 15:00, 3rd quarter
Steelers get the ball to start the second. Bell’s not out there.
Hogan has 117 yards and has scored 2 touchdown. If the Steelers can’t figure him out, they’re not going to win this game.
Thanks to everyone sticking with me here despite the technical difficulties. Hopefully there won’t be any more long delays because of it.
Thanks to everyone sticking with me here despite the technical difficulties. Hopefully there won’t be any more long delays because of it.
Michael P:
Weird thinkin’ but Bell being out might really screw up the Bellicheck plan..
It’s a groin injury for Bell by the way and yes it hurts just to type that.
Halftime!
Pretty solid first half here. It looks like this could be a game. I’ll be back shortly here after a quick reboot.
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, end of the 1st half
Can the Patriots get a final score here? They pick up a first down, mostly thanks to Damon Amendola but that’s about it.
Field goal (Steelers) Steelers 9-17 Patriots
Steelers 9-17 Patriots, 1:39, 2nd quarter
A would be touchdown from James, but it’s reversed after a replay. They settle for a field goal.
Steelers 6-17 Patriots, 2:16, 2nd quarter
While I’m struggling with the internet, Roethlisberger is not at all struggling with the Pats defense. He gets to the New England 19 by the two minute warning, at one point throwing 12 straight completions.
While I’m struggling with the internet, Roethlisberger is not at all struggling with the Pats defense. He gets to the New England 19 by the two minute warning, at one point throwing 12 straight completions.
Steelers 6-17 Patriots, 2:00, 2nd quarter
While I’m struggling with the internet, Roethlisberger is not at all struggling with the Pats defense. He gets to the New England 19 by the two minute warning, at one point throwing 12 straight completion.
I apologize for this but I’m having technical difficulties at the moment. I sincerely apologize for the delay.
Touchdown Patriots. Steelers 6-17, 7:43
Steelers 6-17 Patriots, 7:43, 2nd quarter
They really should start paying attention to Hogan. Brady throws a beautiful pass to him into the end zone, immediately answering the Steelers touchdown. Gostkowski’s extra point is good.
Updated
Steelers 6-10 Patriots, 8:24, 2nd quarter
Brady and Edelman make up one of the most effective duos out there, as they starting showing in this drive, connecting for a 12 yard gain. It looks like the Steelers have a chance to stop the Patriots on a 3rd & 8 situation, but Brady finds Hogan who the Steelers REALLY should start covering here, as he gets to the PIttsburgh 34.
Updated
Steelers 6-10 Patriots, 8:24, 2nd quarter
Brady and Edelman make up one of the most effective duos out there, as they starting showing in this drive, connecting for a 12 yard gain. It looks like the Steelers have a chance to stop the Patriots on a 3rd & 8 situation, but Brady finds Hogan who the Steelers REALLY should start covering here, as he gets to the PIttsburgh 34.
Updated
Touchdown (Steelers) Steelers 7-10 Patriots
Steelers 6-10 Patriots, 11:24, 2nd quarter
1st and 10, Roethlisberger passes to Williams again. He makes 7 straight completions on this drive and they go the distance. Williams goes on a 5 yard touchdown run to put the Steelers on the board. The extra point is no good.
Updated
Steelers 0-10 Patriots, 12:47, 2nd quarter
DeAngelo Williams picks up 15 yard on the first drive of the second quarter. They’re at the Patriots 37 now.
And then to the Patriots 26 thanks to Antonio Brown. These guys are falling into a rhythm now and the Patriots defense hasn’t adjusted. Roethlisberger finds Rogers for 8 and they’re already into the red zone.
Williams picks up another four and there’s an injury to New England DE Trey Flowers. But it’s not that serious looking.
Also worth noting, Bell has hurt his ankle, so that’s something to keep an eye on.
Updated
Steelers 0-10 Patriots, end of the 1st quarter
And the first quarter ends with the Steelers at their 48 with in a 2nd & 4 situation.
Steelers 0-10 Patriots, 1st quarter, 1:57
Man Hogan was just wide open on that last play.
And Gostogwski’s kick goes 63 yards, but Jones manages to return it for a gain of 14 yards. Roethlisberger’s first two throwing attempts are for naught. But on 3rd and 10, Eli Rogers picks up 16 yards. I think that adds up to a first down.
Touchdown! (Patriots) Steelers 0-10 Patriots10 Pa
Steelers 0-10 Patriots, 1st quarter, 2:55
On and that’s a lovely gain from Brady to Hogan on first down, getting 11 yards right up to the Pittsburgh 20. Blount’s back in the mix now, giving his team four yards. On 3rd and 6… Brady finds a wide open Hogan for a 16 yard touchdown! The extra point is good!
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 5:41
Patriots start on their own 23 and they go no huddle. Dion Lewis picks up nearly enough for a first down. And on 3rd and 1, Brady passes to Chris Hogan for a four yard gain. They’re at their 43 with a fresh set of downs.
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 7:30
On 1st and 10, Roethlisberger throws a pass to David Johnson for a yard… and that’s all they get on this drive. The next two passes are incomplete, the second is nearly intercepted by New England. In any case, the Steelers bring out their punt team.
I’m getting just the slightest hint that this could be a defensive battle.
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 9:02
This Steelers drive starts at their 39. They go no-huddle. Roethlisberger attempts to target Antonio Brown but it goes incomplete, next time around he hits Jesse James for 7 yards and that will be enough for a first down.
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 10:14
Jordan Berry’s punt will put the Patriots at their own 33. On the first drive, LaGarrette Blount gets stuff for a one yard loss. 2nd and 11, Brady just sorta throws it away. And 3rd and 11 and on the next play, Brady’s sacked by Javon Hargrave for a loss of 10 yards. Fair to say, there are things that could have gone better for New England on that possession. In comes Ryan Allen to punt.
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 11:53
Steelers start at their own 22 for their first drive. They immediately got to Bell for a 3 yard again. Expect a lot of this today. He picks up another six on second down. On 3rd and 1, Roethlisberger throws incomplete very deep to Sammie Coates. That’s a 3 and out.
Field goal! (Patriots) Steelers 0-3 Patriots
Steelers 0-3 Patriots, 1st quarter, 13:12
But the Steelers defense stops them at their own 13 and the Patriots are forced to kick a field goal. The Pats go up 3 points on Stephen Gostkowski’s 31 yard field goal.
Steelers 0-0 Patriots, 1st quarter, 13:12
And I misheard, the Patriots will get the ball first.
And Brady and Julian Edelman connect for 41 yards to get to the Steelers 22. Big gain almost immediately.
Kickoff!
Steelers 0-0 Patriots, 1st quarter, 15:00
New England win the coin toss and, as always, chose to defer. The Setelers will get fthe first crack at this.
Tonight’s anthem is performed by… Edwin McCain? Kind of an odd choice for football but he’s not half bad.
Michael P
Falcons can plan a parade after what we witnessed today..havin’ said that, hoping the Steelers rip out the Patriot’s guts and eat ‘em…
The Falcons absolutely established themselves as the best team today.
despite the Pats settin’ off alarms and poisoning the Steelers, I still reckon Steelers 30-27.. gonna be a cracker
Updated
We’ll be starting a few minutes later than scheduled due to the length of the NFC championship game which has just gone final. The Falcons have won 44-21. That score makes it look way more competitive than it was.
Pretty much everybody is hoping that this one is a little more competitive:
& pls make it better than ATL/GB. (i'm clearly not an Atlanta fan.) i am a huge fan of a good game. https://t.co/6dJgg7j4Pc
— four waters (@fourwaters) January 22, 2017
One of the least compelling playoff games I’ve seen in a while.
Email from Travis G:
Good day Hunter,
Surely you’re going to have a better game to cover than poor DJ has. I almost feel bad for the guy, having to go through the motions since early in the 2nd quarter...
Well, Go Pats!
In the words of Bono, tonight thank god it’s him instead of me.
Deflategate scandal. Their current playoff run as been described as something of a revenge tour. There’s nothing they would want more than to force NFL commissioner Roger Goodell hand them the Super Bowl trophy after he suspended Brady for four games to start the season (as you can plainly see, Brady’s suspension didn’t really hurt them at all.)
Email from Andy O:
Was it in the semis last year that Brady interfered with the balls?
I believe it was two years ago. It feels like centuries.
It’s not been the best day for the Steelers. Not only did they have their sleep disturbed by that moronic fan, many of the players are battling a pretty nasty bug. We’ll see if this affects their game play, although there’s an off-chance someone will step up and have a Michael Jordan esque flu game.
Predictions
Anyone have any predictions today? I’m gonna to go with the Patriots winning, if only because they have home field game. I’m the thinking that this one will be decided by a late game field goal.
Of course I also had the Packers to win today, so take my prediction with a grain of salt. Your predictions? Email them to me at hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com or hit me up on Twitter at @HunterFelt.
The worst fan of the week award goes to East Boston’s Dennis Harrison, who, at 3am, pulled a fire alarm in the hotel where the Steelers were staying. He’s earned himself an arrest, by he way, not to mention the permanent ire of Pittsburgh.
Preamble
As I write this, the Atlanta Falcons are absolutely destroying the Green Bay Packers (DJ Gallo is covering it here)
While such shows of dominance might be awe-inspiring to witness, they don’t really make for entertaining games. Hopefully the second game of today’s double header, the AFC championship game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, treats us a little better.
Believe or it not, this is only the third postseason game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots, and only the second meeting since Ben Roethlisberger was installed as quarterback. In 2001 the Patriots beat the Steelers 24-17 and be a them again in 2004, this time by the score of 41-27. Both times around, New England went on to win the Super Bowl.
Neither team is coming out of what could be called a convincing win. The Patriots played one of their sloppiest games of the year, making mistakes that kept the Houston Texans in the game before they finally pulled ahead of them in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the Steelers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in their divisional game, but they did so without scoring a touchdown. To state the blatantly obvious, they won’t be able to win that way today.
The key for a Steelers win might will be Le’Veon Bell who is in the midst of revolutionizing the running back position with his ability to pause, read defenses and find the perfect vulnerability to exploit. Then there’s Ben Roethlisberger, the only quarterback in the NFL who is at his best when plays break down. They’re going to be a challenge.
Not that the Patriots themselves will be an easy task for Pittsburgh. Although they will be without tight end Rob Gronkowski, the closest thing the league has to a cheat code, they still have Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, maybe the best coach/quarterback combination In NFL history.
In other words, this appears like a game between equal teams, which hopefully means it won’t be anything like the earlier game. As always we want to hear from you. Send us your emails (to hunter.felt.freelance@theguardian.com) or twitter (to @HunterFelt) throughout tonight’s game and we’ll make use of them here. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers vs the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Opening kickoff is set for 6:40pm EST, but we’ll be back before then.
Hunter will be here shortly, in the meantime here’s how Paolo Bandini sees the game panning out:
It feels like a bizarre quirk of NFL history that Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger have not met in a postseason game for 12 years. The Patriots sealed their fifth conference title by beating Pittsburgh back in January 2005, and all but one of the AFC Championship Games played since then have featured one of those two teams - but somehow never both at the same time.
In his career, Brady has tended to get the better of Roethlisberger: winning six out of eight head-to-head matchups. Those numbers do not include New England’s 27-16 victory at Heinz Field in October, of course, since the Steelers quarterback missed that game with a knee injury.
Roethlisberger’s availability this Sunday is not the only reason to believe his team can do better. Pittsburgh’s defense has improved dramatically since that first meeting - racking up 33 sacks and 19 turnovers over its past 10 games, compared with just 11 sacks and nine turnovers in the first eight. The reintroductions of James Harrison and Bud Dupree to the starting outside linebacker positions have helped to deliver significant improvements in the pass rush.
The Steelers have also shown greater commitment to the running game. After serving a three-week suspension, Le’Veon Bell only surpassed 100 yards rushing once in the first six games he played this season. He has done so in seven out of eight starts since. So far in the playoffs, he has shredded Miami and Kansas City for a combined 337 yards on the ground.
New England’s defense, which ranked third against the run during the regular season, ought to present a stiffer challenge. But if they focus their energies on slowing Bell down, might that leave opportunities for the Steelers elsewhere?
Roethlisberger has had a deeply uneven season, posting a 20:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio at home, but just a 9:8 ratio on the road. He failed to steer his team into the end zone even once during last weekend’s victory in Kansas City. And yet, he is the probably the best quarterback New England have faced since their home defeat to Seattle in week 10.
You can only beat the teams placed in front of you, but it remains true that the Patriots have not seen many good ones in the past two months. Of their seven consecutive wins to end the regular season, only one came against an opponent bound for the playoffs (Miami). And it was not until Brock Osweiler began his second-half meltdown that they really pulled away from Houston on Saturday.
The Steelers faced several bad teams during their own nine-game winning streak, and there are plenty of reasons to doubt their ability of winning in Foxboro. New England’s defense is not only better equipped than most to slow down Bell, but in Malcolm Butler can also boast one of the few cornerbacks capable of matching up one-on-one with Antonio Brown.
I’m well aware, then, that I’m making this pick on a gut feeling, rather than any unimpeachable logic. But I find myself leaning towards the upset. Steelers to win
