Patriots shred Steelers advance to ninth Super Bowl

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Patriots shred Steelers, advance to ninth Super Bowl Published: Jan 22, 2017 at 01:44 PM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host It's safe to say Bill Belichick and the . While Houston's defense hara sed Brady into his worst performance of the season last week, Pittsburgh failed to generate a pa s rush against a clicking New England aerial attack that succeeded with timely misdirection and play-action calls courtesy of master coordinator Josh McDaniels. Brady picked Keith Butler's zone defense apart, taking particular advantage of ill communication and on . He finished with 384 pa sing yards with three touchdowns, tying Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner for the most postseason performances with at least 350 yards and three scores. Since Mike Tomlin's Pittsburgh arrival in 2007, Brady boasts a staggering 22:0 TD Trae Young Jersey -to-INT ratio and a pa ser rating near 130.0 against the -- his best numbers versus any head coach. The Belichick-Brady duo will make their seventh appearance with New England, the most by any head coach and quarterback in NFL history. By the time the final whistle blows in LI, Brady will have been under center in 14 percent of all Super Bowls since the inaugural NFL-AFL championship in January 1967. The ' game plan was scattered to the winds once superstar running back late in the first quarter. Although veteran backup promptly narrowed New England's lead to 10-6 with a second-quarter touchdown, simply didn't have the firepower to stand toe-to-toe with Brady absent Bell's irreplaceable presence in the pa sing game. played excellent coverage on for the second consecutive matchup, forcing Roethlisberger to rely too heavily upon a revolving door of unproven second fiddles. As much credit as Belichick receives as the game's most brilliant strategist, he also has the equivalent of a doctoral degree in team building. He knows it's not the best 53 players, but the 53. After watching Hogan go underutilized in Miami and Buffalo, the ' braintrust plucked him from their division rivals and inserted him into the starting lineup opposite . Hogan matched the numbers posted by in a earlier in the day, setting a franchise postseason record with 180 yards and a pair of touchdowns on nine catches. Hogan was too often left wide open, burning Pittsburgh's soft zone coverage for chunk plays of 16, 22, 24, 26 and 39 yards. Even without the benefit of Bell's presence for the majority of game, Onyeka Okongwu Jersey Roethlisberger played much better than his numbers would suggest. The might have remained competitive well into the second half if not for dispiriting drops by , and . They also suffered from an fumble and James' inability to get the final few inches needed for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. The clamped down at the goal line, forcing a field goal in a key situation. "It would have been significant if we had been able to get a touchdown," Tomlin acknowledged to CBS entering halftime. As impre sive as Pittsburgh's defense has been for the past two months, the concern was that they were never tested by a great quarterback. After two quarters, Tomlin conceded to Westwood One's Ro s Tucker that his young defensive backs were " " at times versus Brady. As impre sive as the ' run defense was on Sunday, the secondary hemorrhaged big plays to Hogan and Edelman, who combined for 298 yards and three touchdowns on 17 receptions. The defense, on the other hand, came up with game-altering plays, holding the to nine points for the first 50 minutes. The goal-line stand preserved a commanding lead at halftime. At one point in the third quarter, Hogan had more receiving yards than Roethlisberger managed as a pa ser. Unsung trade-deadline acquisition forced the Rodgers fumble shortly thereafter, the secondary virtually erased Brown and the run defense clamped down on Williams in the final 30 minutes. In addition to boasting the No. 1 scoring defense, Belichick's troops are also the best tackling unit. After suffering through a slew of postseason blowouts, we will be treated to a gem of a matchup. Led by the MVP favorite and a magical play-caller, the ' loaded offense has been flirting with juggernaut status for four months, peaking in January. The have not trailed in a game since Week 12 -- the longest stretch by any team in over a decade. Since Brady's Week 5 return, they lead the league in won-lo s record (13-1), point differential (plus-208) and scoring defense (15.9). Can one surging team run away from the other, or will this shootout come down to the wire? Will the hoist their first Lombardi Trophy? Will Brady cement his legend as the greatest of all time? We'll have those answers and more in two weeks. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue. Steve Smith Jersey
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