Pats steal another one from cursed Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Somehow, the Patriots did it again. They are back in the driver’s seat, sitting atop the AFC. Just like usual.

The Steelers thought they had the defending Super Bowl champions beat. After suffering too many years of cruel and unusual punishment at the hands of Tom Brady & Co., they thought they had finally gotten over the hump and slain the dragon with a last-second victory.

But the Patriots defense made a game-saving play in the final seconds while that darned Brady led another comeback which was aided by his trusty sidekick Rob Gronkowski, who was unstoppable in the second half during the 27-24 win at Heinz Field.

So Bill Belichick’s team walked away with the win and the AFC East title, took over the top seed in the conference, and gained the knowledge they once again demoralized their closest competition in the AFC. Should we even be surprised at this point?

They still have to beat the Bills and Jets to close out the season and guarantee the top spot, and home field throughout the playoffs, but beating the Steelers was huge in so many ways.

They really didn’t want to have to deal with fighting to keep the second seed, or even having to open up on wild card weekend. Every time they’ve gotten to the Super Bowl, it’s been with a firstround bye.

But more than that, they just keep torturing the poor Steelers. The Pats have won 11 of their last 14 meetings with Mike Tomlin’s team, as well as six of the last seven.

“I’m not into moral victories right now,” said Ben Roethlisberger. “We just lost a game, it doesn’t sit well, but the season is not over.”

It might not be for the 11-3 Steelers, who are the AFC North champs, but the mental hurdle with the Patriots remains.

They were so close to making it happen, and actually thought they did, only to see the winning score taken away.

After Dion Lewis’ 8-yard touchdown run gave the Pats the lead