Steelers can’t defeat Brady

Patriots 1 late in the second quarter, the second after a first-and-goal at the 6 early in the fourth quarter. Hamilton caught an apparent touchdown pass on that fourth-quarter series but stepped out of the back of the end zone before coming back in to make the catch, which is against the rules. Eli Rogers lost a fumble.

During the Steelers’ nine-game winning streak leading into this game, the young players such as Hamilton and Rogers played well, far beyond their years. On this night, the stage seemed a bit too bright for them and Coates.

“We knew we had to play perfect,” David DeCastro said. “We were far from that.”

Losing Bell hurt. He injured his left groin on the second play of the game. He ended up carrying the ball four more plays but left for good midway through the second quarter.

“I had no burst anymore,” Bell said. “I couldn’t be myself. I felt like I was holding the team back.”

Even if Bell had played and set a third consecutive Steelers postseason record after running for 167 yards against Miami and 170 against Kansas City, it wouldn’t have been enough against Brady. Brady put up 36 points, but it easily could have been 50.

The Steelers defense came in allowing the fewest points per game (14) and yards (266) in this postseason. It had 31 sacks during its nine-game winning streak — most in the NFL during that time — and forced 18 turnovers. None of that made Brady blink. He had his 11th 300yard passing game, extending his NFL postseason record. He had his ninth three-touchdown game, tying Montana for most in NFL postseason history.

When the Patriots beat the Steelers, 27-16, at Heinz Field in October, they did it by giving the ball to running back LeGarrette Blount, who had 127 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Blount had a quiet game this time, although he did carry just about the entire Steelers defense for an 18-yard gain before scoring a touchdown on a 1-yard run to give New England a 27-9 lead. This night belonged to Brady, who completed one splash play after another for gains of 41, 26, 22, 33, 24 and 39 yards. Who needed Rob Gronkowski, the best tight end in NFL history? Wide receivers Chris Hogan and Julian Edelman had huge nights. Hogan had nine catches for a franchisepostseason record 180 yards and two touchdowns, including one on a marvelously executed flea flicker. Edelman had eight catches for 118 yards and one touchdown. Did I mention the stage might have been too bright for some Steelers? It certainly seemed that way for rookies Artie Burns and Sean Davis.

“That’s what Tom does,” Roethlisberger said. “He sits back there and picks you apart. He’s the general.”

“We weren’t tight enough in coverage and we didn’t [get] enough consistent pressure on the quarterback,” Tomlin said.

Javon Hargrave sacked Brady on the Patriots’ second series and Davis got him late in the game when Brady was, surprisingly, still on the field and throwing. And you think Tomlin is the only idiot coach in the league for keeping his stars in after the outcome has been decided? Bill Belichick would have looked like a fool if a big hit by Stephon Tuitt late in the game knocked Brady out of the Super Bowl.

As it is, Brady will be in Houston Feb. 5 for Super Bowl LI. And the Steelers? They will be watching on television.

“I definitely felt like we had the team to do it,” Shazier said. “We just didn’t finish the job.”

They never had a chance. The bleeps were just too good. play the type of ball we normally play.”

For Brady and the Patriots, it was more of the same against the Steelers, a familiar kind of game and outcome in which New England ran out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead and then piled on in the second half.

The Steelers played conservatively on defense, rarely blitzed and Brady chewed them up. He completed 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those were caught by someone named Chris Hogan, who also set a Patriots postseason record with nine receptions for 180 yards.

He was another no-name receiver that Brady helped make famous. On the other side, the Steelers’ no-name receivers became infamous. Cobi Hamilton, who caught a late 30-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger, dropped one in the end zone and later caught a pass in the end zone that did not count because he had run out of bounds first.

Sammie Coates dropped a deep pass and did not come up with another he might have had. Eli Rogers caught a 3-yarder, fumbled and New England turned it into a touchdown. Antonio Brown was blanketed, caught seven passes for 77 yards and no touchdowns and blew off the media afterward.

“You get combat catch opportunities, you got to make them when you’re a championship-caliber team,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers lost Le’Veon Bell to a groin injury in the first quarter and he did not play again. Tomlin said that changed their strategy on offense but “injuries are part of the game. We didn’t do a good enough job or quick enough job adapting to the circumstances.”

Yet the loss of Bell — who missed the postseason the previous two years with injuries — might have had a psychological impact on his teammates.

“A lot of guys were feeling good about this game,” tackle Marcus Gilbert said. “Then the whole climate changed.”

Coincidentally, their second-worst playoff loss also came in New England, 28-3, in the 1996 season when Hall of Fame back Jerome Bettis was ineffective because of a serious groin injury.

Guard David DeCastro said the Patriots altered defenses once Bell left the game, preferring to defend the pass more than the run with DeAngelo Williams.

“Once he was out, they moved the safety back,” DeCastro said.

It worked. Williams ran 14 times for 34 yards and the Steelers managed just 54 on the ground, although Williams ran for one of their two touchdowns. Roethlisberger completed 31 of 47 passes for 314 yards with one late interception and a touchdown to Hamilton. He was not sacked and had good protection but his receivers let him down with all the drops.

As in Kansas City, they could not put the ball in the end zone when they got close. A catch by Jesse James that at first was ruled a 19-yard touchdown was overturned by replay and the ball was placed at the 1-foot mark. Two runs to the left by Williams lost 4 yards and Roethlisberger threw wild to Eli Rogers.

They settled for a field goal. At least they got 3 points out of that one. Early in the fourth quarter, they reached the 2 and got nothing when passes on third and fourth down failed.

The Steelers wanted to attack Brady up the middle after the Houston Texans did so with some success the previous week. It did not work, except for a Javon Hargrave sack.

“They did a great job finding the blitzes,” linebacker Ryan Shazier said. “I guess they figured we’d come up the middle” as Houston had done.

They did that even though defensive coordinator Keith Butler Thursday predicted the Patriots would fix that because they would figure the Steelers would attack it the way Houston had.

“They ran quite a bit three-man rush,” New England coach Bill Belichick noted. “It’s always easier for the quarterback when there are open receivers throwing the ball.”

No quarterback nor coach has won five Super Bowl titles. New England’s Brady and Belichick can become the first. Chuck Noll won four Super Bowls as Steelers coach and Terry Bradshaw as their quarterback. Joe Montanta won four as quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers.

The Patriots will play the Atlanta Falcons, who have never won a Super Bowl.

History is written by the victors.

“It’s always a weird game when you play those guys,” DeCastro said of the Patriots. “It’s weird.”

It’s also usually something else for the Steelers, a loss, especially in AFC championships.