TAKE IT AWAY
Patriots, Steelers clash with Super Bowl berth on the line
THEY MEET AGAIN: Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler breaks up a pass intended for Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown during their Week 7 meeting in Pittsburgh. The two figure to see a lot of each other tonight in Foxboro as they vie for the right to go to the Super Bowl.
FOXBORO — Statistically, Tom Brady turned in what would be considered a stinker last weekend in the divisional round game against the Texans. His completion percentage of 47.4 was the worst of his 32 career postseason starts.
Now here’s something you can take to the bank: There’s no chance he duplicates that performance tonight.
If there’s one thing certain about Brady, he doesn’t make a habit of piling one bad performance on top of another. That’s not how he rolls.
With the AFC Championship Game against the Steelers on tap at Gillette Stadium tonight, and a date in the Super Bowl riding on the outcome, it’s almost guaranteed Brady will be great. Even if he was on the cover of Sports Illustrated last week.
Forget about the jinx. You won’t see a game in which Brady throws two interceptions, as he did against the Texans in the divisional round game, matching his season total. At the very least, he’ll be markedly better than the Brady who was on display last Saturday night.
Brady’s former teammate and blindside protector Matt Light has seen enough Brady rebounds to know it’s more than a fluke.
“Athletes are competitive, but with Tommy, it’s a whole different level of being competitive,” Light told the Herald last week. “He’s very critical, always looking inward, always thinking about how can he improve on the previous week’s performance. He’s always been big on that . . . he’s relentless in that way. So, yeah, I think he’s going to come out and have a big game.”
Indeed. Over Brady’s 17 seasons, just about every time he’s had an off game, he’s followed that up with something pretty special, or at least, vastly improved.
Former teammate Heath Evans pieced all the variables together — or “Brady ammo” as he calls it — for what should be a great performance by No. 12 tonight.
“It’s his makeup. He played a tough No. 1 defense (last week) and didn’t perform the way he wanted to, (and now) you’re playing Big Ben (Roethlisberger), another quarterback that’s second to him in the ranks of rings of current players, you name it, there’s just all this added Brady ammo,” the NFL analyst told the Herald last week, “but at the end of the day, it’s still Tom freakin’ Brady, it’s the AFC Championship, it’s one win from the Super Bowl . . . so, yeah, with all of that going on, we’re expecting him to go off.”
All the elements are in place for him to have a big game, including his knowledge of the opponent. Brady has always performed well against the Steelers and their zone-blitz scheme, whether they blitz him or not. He has had at least two passing touchdowns and no interceptions in each of his last six regular-season games vs. the Steelers. And, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, that it’s the longest streak of its kind against any team in NFL history.
Brady just seems to have a comfort level against their scheme. The numbers don’t lie. In 11 games vs. Pittsburgh, he’s gone 9-2, throwing for 26 touchdowns with just three interceptions, while averaging 286 yards passing. It’s hard to argue with that kind of success against any rival.
“I’d be surprised if he doesn’t put up 40 points,” Evans said of Brady.
Naturally, during the week’s buildup, Brady emphasized the significance of the game, and addressed the difficulties presented by the Steelers defense.
“They’ve been dominant. (They’re) very good in the secondary, dependable, and very good against the run,” Brady said of the Steelers. “The linebackers are some of the best in the league. They have a big front, very physical. They’re a very mentally tough team, well-coached, great scheme, they pressure the quarterback. They do a lot of things well.”
The Steelers are going to have to come up with something special to try and limit the damage because, for Brady, going two games in a row with sub-standard performances simply does not compute.
To cite a few examples: Brady responded with a terrific game after he threw four interceptions in the 2003 season-opening loss to the Bills in Buffalo. Against the Eagles the following week, he tossed three touchdown passes to lead the Patriots to victory in Philadelphia. Or fast-forward to 2014, and that dreadful game in Kansas City, where Brady was yanked after completing just 14of-23 passes for 159 yards with a pair of picks at Arrowhead? People were calling for him to retire or be traded. But the following week against Cincinnati, he was 23-of-35 with two touchdown passes in a rout of the Bengals. He went on a tear from there, and ultimately was named the MVP of Super Bowl XLIX after bringing the Patriots back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit against the Seahawks in that memorable game.
So he’ll rebound tonight, and likely, in a big way.
Said Brady: “We have to play our best game of the year. I think that’s what it comes down to. We’ve got to all do whatever it takes to be at our best for those three hours on Sunday night. They put a lot of pressure on you in a lot of areas. They’re tough to prepare for. We’re going to have to just rise to the occasion.”