Twelve beers, one can of Skoal, 57 Peyton Manning commercials, and 34 points later, New England continued its dominance Sunday with a 21-point win over Pittsburgh, while moving its record to 13-0.

 

After a first half scare, Tom Brady and the boys were able to overcome what many “pundits” have labeled their biggest threat at a perfect season. Can the Patriots do it?

 

That is the question that national media outlets have asked over and over again this season. This topic has had more

national exposure then Britney Spears’ private area. The stage was set. Guarantees were made. The game was on. Ultimately, this was a tale of two halves, as the box score shows us, New England took over the contest in the third quarter, while shutting out the opposition the rest of the way.

The last time these two AFC powers squared off was in 2005, when the Patriots ended Pittsburgh’s 16-game regular-season winning streak. The year before, on Halloween, Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers ended New England’s 18-game regular season win streak, along with their 21-game overall win streak that included the playoffs.

Brady had a career record of 4-1 against Pittsburgh going into the game, but the fact that the Steelers had ended New England’s last big win streak gave Patriots fans some angst.

New England won the toss, and for many of us, the question was, “How long until New England punches it in?”

However, Brady and his high-powered offense came out and were quickly shut down for a three and out, marking only the third time the Patriots failed to score on their opening drive. Next up, Pittsburgh came back with a time-consuming drive that ended with a field goal. For the first time all season, the Patriots defense gave up points on an opponent’s first drive. The Steelers inability to punch it in for seven however may have proved the bigger problem for them in the grand scheme of things.

The Steelers kicked it back to the Patriots, and interestingly enough, the recently activated Chad Jackson was the return man. Jackson returned the ball to the New England 48 giving the Patriots great field position. Moss made an acrobatic catch on third down, and then Maroney carried a pile of sixty-five, yes SIXTY-FIVE Steelers giving Patriots fans a glimpse of what they have been hoping for from the former Minnesota back.

 

Then the inevitable happened as Brady hooked up with Moss in the end zone for the 18th time on the season. This TD gave Brady his 42nd touchdown pass on the season, and Moss a new career high in touchdown receptions.

In other news, we all continue to wonder what exactly Marvin Harrison is doing being triple-teamed by real live dolphins in a room full of water as a little kid whispers to Peyton Manning, “Clark.”

Back to the game, and before you can say “Wow, look at Brady talking junk to Anthony Smith”, the new presidential ticket of Brady-Moss hooked up again, now for the 19th time on the year.

 

This time, a 63-yard play action pass that fooled Mr. Guarantee himself but wouldn’t have fooled an 8-year-old junior pee wee player. This solely based on the fact that New England only had 55 net yards rushing on the day, and the obvious plan was to spread the Steelers defense out.

 

How many times are we going to scream at the television, “how in the freaking world do you let Moss go untouched?” The zone coverage just isn’t cutting it against Mr. Moss, any mistake and he is gone. This long strike of course gave Brady his 43rd touchdown on the season, and moved Moss into second place in the history of the game in single season touchdown receptions with 19 total, three behind Jerry Rice in his record setting strike shortened season.

Right when you think the game is going to become a rout, the Steelers come back with a quick drive of their own, capping it off with a 32 yard strike to Davenport. Is anyone better at moving around in the pocket and making a throw on the run than Big Ben? The Steelers come out and stop the Patriots offense again, but the Patriots catch a break when a short punt goes off a Steelers defender and the Patriots recover.

The next set of events gave Pittsburgh fans hope, as the defense stopped New England, and Stephen Gostowski missed a 48 yard field goal. Mike Tomlin clenched his fist and the angst among Patriots fans grew bigger. At this point in the game, the Steelers had done exactly what they wanted, which was limiting the New England offense from being on the field. By the 2nd quarter Pittsburgh had the ball twice as much in terms of time of possession than New England.

The teams exchanged field goals before heading into the half with a score of New England 17 – Pittsburgh 13. At this point Welker couldn’t catch a pass, Gaffney was proving what a great role player he was for the Patriots, and the Steelers Rover/Nixer style of defense, which involves linebackers rapidly moving around before the snap proved to be effective. The Patriots hadn’t moved the ball at will, and the confidence of the Steelers team continued to grow.

First half key situation: Pittsburgh stops New England after a botched punt goes off a Pittsburgh defender.

Halftime at the house: Bill Cowher and Shannon Sharpe make a few comments as the beer keeps flowing down my throat. Peyton Manning tells us that unless you are 23 years old you should buy bigger shirts. I get up, and I broke the seal.

A few piss breaks later and the second half was underway. In a game of inches, maybe on another day Pittsburgh comes through. But on this day, the second half led to Pittsburgh’s demise. Here are my quick hit thoughts on the second half of this game:

1.Larry Izzo set the tone with a big special teams hit.

2. People touting Pittsburgh’s wide outs as great blockers are correct. Big reason why Willie Parker finished with 124 yards rushing.

3. Vince Wilfork put a monstrous hit on Roethlisberger. That may be the first time I’ve seen someone get Big Ben down without wrapping him up.

4. Great pickup and throw by Moss on the flee-fumble-flicker play. Good eyes and hands.

5. Pittsburgh shouldn’t have been so cute on the 4th and goal play to Hines Ward. Handing off to Davenport had proved to be effective.

6. Welker and Brady really get in rhythm sometimes. This duo is capable of completing five straight at any crucial point in a game.

7. Pittsburgh wasn’t going to change their blitzing game plan, regardless of how ineffective it seemed in the 2nd half after New England made line adjustments.

What does this game prove?
From a New England fans perspective, I believe the Steelers are closer then the final score indicated. This isn’t saying that when New England is at their best, and Pittsburgh is at their best, I believe the game would be close, but the way the game was played today the final score certainly didn’t indicate the real outcome.

 

To me, the game was much closer then the 21 point spread. It is easy to sit back after a game and talk about the “what ifs”, but honestly that is what this game came to. Every time the Steelers had the ball I felt uneasy as Roethlisberger went back to pass. Any time I saw that the play may be a little broken, and Big Ben would scramble I would hold my breath because I had the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

 

When Gostowski missed the 48-yard field goal I just knew the Steelers were going to make a game of this. In the end though, the Patriots came up with those win or lose type of plays, while getting a little luck. This is the type of “luck” that we in New England have become accustomed to since 2001. I think as a fan I fear Peyton Manning and the Colts more then the Steelers, but there is always a great satisfaction when the Patriots beat the Steelers. I think I respect the Steelers more then any other football team because of their hard hitting, grind it out attitude, and any time the Patriots beat this team it is a relief, because it is usually a dog fight.

Wrap up:
This game didn’t play out as a dominate one sided fashion that the score indicated, however, Bill Belichick will sleep better at night knowing that his red zone defense came to play today.

 

Pittsburgh went into the game with the mind set of sticking to what they know, meaning they were going to try to apply pressure on Brady by bringing multiple linebackers and moving around before the snap. Early in the game, the plan proved effective as Brady was rushed on many pass attempts that ended in several incomplete passes. The offense adjusted, and ultimately Brady was never sacked.

 

The Steelers offense was able to move the ball all four quarters, but the New England defense made plays in the clutch. Certainly the “bend but don’t break” style of defense was on display today for the Patriots. Roethlisberger definitely misfired on a few big third downs, but in the end, you have to give the Patriots defense credit. On this day, New England remained perfect and just beat the third best team in the AFC. Any time your favorite team beats the Pittsburgh Steelers it’s a great day. The Patriots are still undefeated with three left to play.

Bring on the Jets.