The Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots are two of the most impressive franchises in the NFL. The two organizations are tied for the most Super Bowl victories with six, while the Steelers have been to eight Super Bowls and the Patriots have been to 11. The Steelers had the bulk of their success in the 1970s, while New England dominated the 2000s and 2010s, but the Steelers were the second most successful team in the NFL during that time period. They won two Super Bowls and went to three, while falling victim to the Patriots multiple times in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots dynasty obviously begins with the emergence of Tom Brady, who took the reins of the offense during the 2001 season in relief of an injured Drew Bledsoe. Brady would end up playing the rest of the regular season, winning 11 of the 14 games that he started. The Patriots wound up securing the two-seed in the AFC playoffs. The Patriots would march through the first two rounds of the postseason, which set up a date in Pittsburgh to play the Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots would win the game 24-17 and book their ticket to Super Bowl XXXVI, with Bledsoe being the hero after playing well in relief of Brady when he suffered a knee injury. Ernie Adams, who was the football research director for the Patriots from 2000 through 2020, recently appeared on the podcast Games With Names and discussed the role Bledsoe played in getting the Patriots to the Super Bowl during the 2001 season.
“Listen, Tom got hurt, and Drew, being a team guy, Drew came in and threw the big touchdown pass and we won the game. If Drew doesn’t come in and play well against the Steelers, you know, Pittsburgh’s going to the Super Bowl.”
The Steelers played an all-around sloppy game in the AFC Championship. Kordell Stewart threw three interceptions, Pittsburgh gave up a touchdown on a punt return, and the Patriots were able to block a field goal and return that for a touchdown as well. Bledsoe wasn’t the only reason the Patriots were able to win the game, but he did help make the hole too deep for Pittsburgh to crawl out of.
The Steelers found themselves down 21-3 with just under nine minutes left in the third quarter. Up until this point, New England had recorded two touchdowns on special teams, and Bledsoe fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to David Patten in the second quarter. Pittsburgh began to mount a comeback after New England’s third touchdown by scoring two touchdowns to end the third quarter to make the score 21-17 heading into the fourth. The only points that came in the final quarter came on a field goal from the Patriots, which sealed their 24-17 victory.
Bledsoe had 10 completions in 21 attempts that went for 102 yards and the touchdown in relief of Brady. The Steelers were unable to capitalize on Brady going down early in the first half, and really beat themselves in the game by turning the ball over four times and giving up two touchdowns on special teams. Brady would return for Super Bowl XXXVI two weeks later, where the Patriots would take down the St. Louis Rams and claim their first Super Bowl victory, which started one of the best dynasties in NFL history.
Steelers Could Have Dominated The 2000s And 2010s If It Weren’t For New England
The Steelers and Patriots were consistently two of the best teams in the AFC throughout the 2000s and 2010s, yet New England was able to win six Super Bowls during that time while Pittsburgh was only able to win two. The Steelers and Patriots faced one another in the playoffs three times during that time span, with the Patriots prevailing every time. All three games played in the postseason was the AFC Championship game with the Patriots winning in the 2001, 2004, and 2016 seasons.
Brady and the Patriots certainly had the Steelers’ number, especially in the playoffs. All three times the Patriots beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship game, New England would go on to win the Super Bowl. The Steelers could’ve had an opportunity to capture three more Lombardi Trophies, but Brady and the Patriots always found a way to take down Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.
