AFC CHAMPIONSHIP
Something has to give as crowned playoff veterans Steelers’ Roethlisberger, Patriots’ Brady take field
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has waited a long time for this moment, a dozen years in the making for this playoff rematch with Tom Brady.
The strong-armed, five-time Pro Bowl selection hasn’t squared off in the postseason against Brady since Jan. 23, 2005, in the AFC championship game in which he threw three costly interceptions with one returned for a touchdown in a 41-27 loss.
Roethlisberger gets another shot at Brady and the New England Patriots on Sunday in the AFC title game at Gillette Stadium.
It’s a matchup of two legendary signalcallers who have combined to win six Super Bowl rings — the most among opposing quarterbacks in NFL playoff history. It marks the first time since 1979 and the third time in history two Super Bowl QB victors have faced off in the playoffs.
This represents Roethlisberger’s fifth AFC title game in 13 NFL seasons, his first since 2010.
Roethlisberger eagerly awaits this rematch and the opportunity to advance to Super Bowl LI at NRG Stadium.
“You’ve got one game to get to the Super Bowl,” said Roethlisberger, who ranks sixth in NFL history with 13 playoff wins. “You’re going to the dragon’s lair, and we’re trying to slay the dragon.” To be the best, you beat the best
The dragon? That would be arguably the greatest modern NFL coach-quarterback partnership in Patriots coach Bill Belichick and Brady, a three-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player, a two-time league MVP and a 12-time Pro Bowl selection who had 28 touchdowns and two interceptions in the regular season.
And in his career, Brady has haunted the Steelers. He’s 9-2 against them all-time with 26 TD passes and three interceptions. Brady has four Super Bowl rings in six appearances. If Brady makes it to the Super Bowl and wins, he would have five league championships to match former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr.
As for Roethlisberger, he has been nearly as clutch as Brady with two Super Bowl wins in three appearances. Going back to 2001, five Super Bowls have taken place without the presence of Brady or Roeth-- Patriots update: New England is the first team since 1970 merger to advance to six straight AFC championship games. … Patriots are 5-1 at home in conference title games. … With their win last weekend over the Texans, coach Bill Belichick and QB Tom Brady have won 23 playoff games together, most in league history by coach and starting quarterback. No other coach-QB combo has participated in that many games together. … Belichick has advanced to 11 conference championship games, most by a coach since the merger. Tom Landry is next with 10. … Brady’s 23 playoff wins are most by a quarterback in league history. He also is NFL postseason leader in completions (756), attempts (1,221), passing yards (8,244) and touchdown passes (58). … WR Julian Edelman has franchise-high 76 career playoff receptions. lisberger leading the AFC-representatives.
“Ben is an incredible player, and he’s been that way since 2004 when he came into the league,” Brady said. “I’ve always loved the way he plays — very tough, hard-- Steelers update: Steelers are 8-7 in conference championship games, tying them with the Patriots and Broncos for most victories. … Pittsburgh leads the NFL with 36 postseason victories. … Coach Mike Tomlin looks to lead the Steelers to Super Bowl for third time in his career. … Ben Roethlisberger is 3-1 as the starting QB in AFC title games. He has a 13-6 career postseason record. … Last weekend, RB Le’Veon Bell became the first player in NFL history to rush for at least 150 yards in each of his first two playoff games. … WR Antonio Brown had six catches for 108 yards against Kansas City, his fourth consecutive playoff game with at least 100 yards receiving. He’s tied with Larry Fitzgerald for longest postseason streak of 100-yard receiving games in history. … LB James Harrison seeks fifth consecutive playoff game with at least one sack. nosed. He’s great for the city of Pittsburgh — a very tough, hard-nosed city.”
Roethlisberger thinks highly enough of Brady that he requested a jersey from him when the Patriots visited Heinz Field in October when the Steelers quarterback was sidelined with a meniscus cartilage injury. Roethlisberger also has jerseys from Dan Marino, John Elway and Jim Kelly.
“I consider him one of, if not the best of all time,” Roethlisberger said of Brady. “It’s two old guys playing this game for a long time. He deserves all the credit he gets. I think this is more than just the two of us. We’re not playing tennis. At the quarterback position you get used to it, a lot of talk about quarterback versus quarterback. I know, and I’m sure he knows, it’s bigger than us. I have a lot of respect for him. It’s been an honor to play against him, to call him a competitor.”
This kind of elite pairing happens infrequently.
Brady, 39, had a 112.2 passer rating after serving a four-game suspension for his role in the Deflategate scandal, seemingly playing with a vengeance after being embarrassed by the investigation and labeled a cheater.
Roethlisberger, 34, has passed for 301 career touchdowns. He threw for 3,819 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with a 95.4 passer rating this season.
Roethlisberger hasn’t forgotten that rookie-season playoff loss to the Patriots in which he completed 14 of 24 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.
“They got after me,” Roethlisberger said. “They made me make some mistakes. I just realized kind of what it was going to take to get over that hump.” Roadblock for Big Ben
Roethlisberger won eight of his first 10 playoff games and earned Vince Lombardi trophies after the 2005 and 2008 seasons.
But Roethlisberger is 5-4 in the playoffs since his last Super Bowl victory. He’s 3-6 against the Patriots for his career with 17 touchdowns and six interceptions. He has never defeated Brady at Gillette Stadium.
Brady has a 114.2 passer rating against the Steelers, his second-best against any NFL team. And the Patriots are 16-3 at home in the playoffs with Brady.
Does the rivalry with Brady make this game more meaningful? Maybe, but Roethlisberger would not admit it.
“I’m going to be honest, I don’t care who we had to play in the AFC championship game,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s the championship game. You have one game to get to the Super Bowl. You never know when the next moment is going to happen. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us. You might as well enjoy it and relish every moment.”