Steelers at Patriots: 3 things we learned
By John Buhler
The New England Patriots clobbered the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016 AFC Championship, 36-17. Here are the three big takeaways from this conference title bout.
The New England Patriots did their job and dismantled the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2016 AFC Championship 36-17 to advance to Super Bowl LI. New England will face the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium in Houston in two weeks.
This will be the seventh AFC Championship of the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era in Foxborough. Though Pittsburgh won a league-best nine games in a row, the Steelers will have to wait another year for Lombardi Trophy No. 7. Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Patriots’ rout of the Steelers.
1. Tom Brady isn’t done yet.
Brady did not look like his Hall of Fame self in the Patriots’ two previous AFC playoff games. He struggled in the 2015 AFC Championship Game in defeat against the Denver Broncos. Brady was largely inconsistent against the Houston Texans in the 2016 AFC Divisional Round.
However, he would dispel all doubt of his decline in the 2016 AFC Championship. Brady crushed the Steelers defense by completing 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He would have no difficulty finding wideouts Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan for big gains.
New England has a good problem on its hands: how long do they hold on to Brady before giving way to his backup Jimmy Garoppolo as the heir apparent? Frankly, it doesn’t matter, as the Patriots are Super Bowl bound for the seventh time with Brady as its quarterback. The Patriots will get to that dilemma in the offseason, but Brady isn’t done yet.
2. Have we already seen the best of Ben Roethlisberger?
While Brady seems to have a little bit left in the tank, have we seen the best of Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers? Of the four quarterbacks to get to the conference championship, Roethlisberger was easily playing the worst of the quartet.
He still threw for over 300 yards on Sunday, but his Steelers offense looked listless for much of the game. Honestly, the Steelers passing game was largely underwhelming during their last 10 games. The Steelers may have gone 9-1 in that stretch, but that had more to do with the unique patient running style of running back Le’Veon Bell than anything.
Once Bell got had to leave the AFC Championship Game due to injury, it exposed Roethlisberger as the inconsistent passer he is becoming. He’s a Hall of Famer, but has taken a beaten in 13 years with the Steelers. It’s becoming a reality that we may not see Roethlisberger get back to and win a third Super Bowl before he retires. Pittsburgh is running out of time.
3. Maybe the Patriots have the defense to stop the Atlanta Falcons offense?
It hasn’t happened yet, but the Patriots could have the defense that could slow down the Falcons’ ultra-explosive offense. Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia will be a head coach one day. He will have a tough task of slowing down Kyle Shanahan’s historically dominant offense.
One thing that Belichick does better than just about any NFL head coach is taking away an opponent’s most explosive weapon. For Atlanta, that guy is All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones. Belichick and Patricia held the other All-Pro wideout Antonio Brown of the Steelers to seven catches for 77 yards.
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However, Atlanta does have more perimeter weapons than does Pittsburgh. If the Patriots can find away to stop Jones, wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel, New England does have the defense that can limit the overall effectiveness of the Atlanta offense. This is going to be a Super Bowl for the ages.