Pats steal moment
No. 1, East come with wild finish
PITTSBURGH — The AFC again runs through New England.
The Patriots shocked the Steelers, 27-24, with a wild victory yesterday at Heinz Field to clinch their ninth consecutive AFC East title. And by erasing an eightpoint, fourth-quarter deficit, the Patriots (11-3) took over the No.1 seed in the conference, and they’ll keep that perch if they close the regular season with wins at home against the Bills and Jets.
The Steelers controlled the majority of the game, but nobody erases a deficit like Tom Brady, who orchestrated the 53rd gamewinning drive of his career. And in an ending that was reminiscent of Super Bowl XLIX, the defense secured the topsy-turvy affair when Eric Rowe broke up a pass in the final seconds that was intercepted by Duron Harmon.
“It was a lot of fun,” Brady said. “Football is a crazy game. Just keep fighting, and you fight until the end.”
The Steelers had the ball for 35:07 because they converted on 10-of-13 third downs, and the Patriots were only 3-of-9 on third down. But Brady and Rob Gronkowski took over after the defense forced its only three-and-out of the night, connecting three times for 69 yards to set up Dion Lewis’ 8-yard touchdown with 56 seconds to play. Brady and Gronkowski then connected on a fade pattern for a 2-point conversion to make it 27-24.
Gronkowski had nine catches for 168 yards, and he also earned an extra $2 million in incentives by crossing 1,000 yards on that final drive. He did the majority of the damage for Brady, who was 22-of-35 for 298 yards, one TD and one interception.
“I love being in that zone,” Gronkowski said. “It feels good. I wish I could be like that 24/7, every week, every day. That would be cool.”
Even still, the Steelers almost rallied for the steal, as JuJu SmithSchuster beat Rowe and several missed tackles for 69 yards on their first play of the next drive. Jesse James appeared to catch a 10-yard TD pass, but he lost control as it hit the ground and the play was overturned by referee Tony Corrente.
Ben Roethlisberger attempted an ill-fated fake spike two plays later, and his pass for Eli Rogers was deflected by Rowe and picked by Harmon with :05 to go.
“In my head, I was like, ‘Damn, I just gave up this game by myself,’ ” Rowe said of his eventful final sequence. “And then they scored and obviously made me feel bad. But it got overturned, and I was like, ‘OK, just got to keep playing.’ One last play, I was blessed just to make the play.”
Brady and Brandin Cooks created early momentum after managing just a single connection a week earlier against the Dolphins. Cooks beat the zone down the field while Brady bided time with a rare double play-action before they hooked up for a 43yard gain to the 7-yard line. Two plays later, Rex Burkhead made it 7-0 with a 1-yard TD plunge.
Roethlisberger evened the score on the ensuing drive by attacking Rowe, who earned his most expansive playing time since returning from a torn groin. Smith-Schuster beat Rowe for 13 yards on third-and-10. And a play later, Rowe was a fingertip shy of breaking up a pass in the right seam for Rogers, who scooted away for an 18-yard TD.
The teams then matched field goals in the second quarter, but the Steelers’ squandered march cost more than points. Antonio Brown, an MVP candidate, injured his calf when he couldn’t catch a pass in the end zone and was taken to the hospital after he couldn’t put any weight on the wounded leg.
After Stephen Gostkowski’s kick made it 10-10, the Steelers uncorked an odyssey of a 15play march that included four third-down conversions over the course of 8:39. On third-and-goal, Roethlisberger faded away from Trey Flowers’ rush to lob a 4-yard TD pass to Martavis Bryant, who made a one-handed catch to beat Stephon Gilmore on a drag route for a 17-10 hafltime lead.
The Pats answered on the other side of the break, thanks to another tough catch by Gronkowski for 22 yards, and their urgency was on display when they went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Steelers 16. Brady fit a dart through a tight window to Gronkowski for a 10yard gain and later made a scrambling, 4-yard TD connection to Cooks. But the Steelers clung to their 17-16 lead as Gostkowski pulled the extra point.
Brady, who is 11-2 in his career against the Steelers, then made his worst mistake against them in a dozen years, as he was hit by Javon Hargrave while trying to squeeze a throw into a crowd. The intended target was unclear, but it was picked off by Vince Williams, who returned it to the Pats 22.
The ensuing drive ended when Elandon Roberts shot a gap to nowhere and allowed Le’Veon Bell to run for an easy 3-yard TD that made it 24-16.
The Pats chipped away in the fourth with Gostkowski’s 46-yarder to cut the deficit to 24-19, and the defense held up with three consecutive third-down stops to close the game before they broke out the divisional championship hats and T-shirts for the 15th time under coach Bill Belichick.
“The (roller-coaster) ride ended very well,” Gronkowski said.