Post by rjxsapri® on Jan 22, 2005 12:33:38 GMT -5
Ok, we're one day away from the Conference Championship games. Post you Pre and Post game comments on this thread.
[glow=red,2,300]AFC GAME[/glow]
New England (15-2) at Pittsburgh (16-1) AFC Championship Sunday, 6:30 pm EST
-- The New England Patriots return to the place where their NFL-record 21-game winning streak came to an end. They have to win this time to earn another trip to the Super Bowl.
For the second time in four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Patriots in the AFC championship game.
Bill Cowher is used to this scenario. The NFL's longest-tenured coach - 13 years with Pittsburgh - has his team at home in a conference championship game for the fifth time. Unfortunately, the Steelers have lost three of their previous four, including a 24-17 defeat to the Patriots in January 2002.
"All the games were pretty close," Cowher said of his 1-3 record in conference championship games. "We're underdogs at home this time, which we should be against the defending champions."
Two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady started the last AFC championship game here for the Patriots, but did not finish, leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ankle after completing 12-of-18 passes for 115 yards.
It was a memorable day for Troy Brown , who scored on a 55-yard punt return, scooped up a blocked field goal and lateraled the ball to Antwan Harris for another touchdown and caught eight passes for 121 yards.
Brady, Brown, kicker Adam Vinatieri , tackle Matt Light , defensive end Richard Seymour and linebackers Tedy Bruschi , Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinest are the many Patriots who remain from a team that went on to upset St. Louis, 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI under coach Bill Belichick.
The Steelers also have many holdovers from the 2001 team, including running back Jerome Bettis , receivers Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress , guard Alan Faneca , center Jeff Hartings , defensive ends Aaron Smith and Kimo von Oelhoffen and linebackers Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell . But the quarterback was Kordell Stewart , who threw for 255 yards and ran for 41, but also was intercepted three times.
Now the quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger , the NFL Rookie of the Year who is unbeaten at 14-0. One of those wins was a 34-20 victory over the Patriots on October 31.
It was the first regular-season loss for the Patriots in 399 days. They set NFL records with 21 consecutive wins, including playoffs, and 18 straight regular-season victories.
But Brady committed three turnovers while Roethlisberger played a mistake-free game and connected with Burress on a pair of touchdowns.
Roethlisberger was aided by a strong running game. Duce Staley rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries for his fourth 100-yard game of the season and Bettis added 65 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
"They handed it to us up there," Brady said. "All we wanted was another crack at them after we lost there and now we have it."
But this time the Pats will have Corey Dillon . New England's leading rusher with 1,635 yards, Dillon missed the first meeting with a thigh injury. Without Dillon, the Pats had minus-1 yard rushing on four carries in the first half and ran the ball only twice in the second half, finishing with five yards on six carries.
Cowher couldn't have scripted it any better. The Steelers jumped to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter as Roethlisberger hit Burress with touchdowns of 47 and four yards and cornerback Deshea Townsend returned an interception 39 yards for a score.
The Patriots also lost star cornerback Ty Law in that game due to a broken left foot and the Steelers took advantage, burning replacement Randall Gay on Burress' first touchdown.
However, now Gay is more acclimated to Belichick's defensive schemes. Without Law and Tyrone Poole , the team's other starting cornerback, the Patriots stifled two-time MVP Peyton Manning and the NFL's highest-scoring offense last week in a 20-3 victory.
Now the onus will be on Roethlisberger to figure out Belichick's multiple fronts and disguised coverages. No rookie quarterback has ever led his team to the Super Bowl.
The Steelers are riding a franchise-best 15-game winning streak, but barely survived last week with a 20-17 overtime win over the New York Jets in the divisional playoff. Doug Brien missed two field goals for the Jets in the final 2:02 of regulation.
Roethlisberger struggled in his first playoff game, completing 17-of-30 passes for 181 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was returned 86 yards for a score.
Brady never has lost in the postseason, compiling a 7-0 record to go with his two Super Bowl MVP awards. Last week, he threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Dillon rushed for 144 yards on 23 carries in the win over the Colts.
No one probably appreciated playing in a postseason game more than Dillon, who was acquired by New England from the Cincinnati Bengals in the offseason. In Dillon's seven years in Cincinnati, the Bengals went 34-78 and failed to make the playoffs.
A win Sunday would put the defending champions in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. The last team to achieve that was the Dallas Cowboys in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
Matchup to watch: Steelers right guard Keydrick Vincent faces left inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi , who recovered two fumbles and forced one in last week's playoff win over Indianapolis.
Series: Pittsburgh leads, 12-5.
[glow=red,2,300]AFC GAME[/glow]
New England (15-2) at Pittsburgh (16-1) AFC Championship Sunday, 6:30 pm EST
-- The New England Patriots return to the place where their NFL-record 21-game winning streak came to an end. They have to win this time to earn another trip to the Super Bowl.
For the second time in four years, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Patriots in the AFC championship game.
Bill Cowher is used to this scenario. The NFL's longest-tenured coach - 13 years with Pittsburgh - has his team at home in a conference championship game for the fifth time. Unfortunately, the Steelers have lost three of their previous four, including a 24-17 defeat to the Patriots in January 2002.
"All the games were pretty close," Cowher said of his 1-3 record in conference championship games. "We're underdogs at home this time, which we should be against the defending champions."
Two-time Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Tom Brady started the last AFC championship game here for the Patriots, but did not finish, leaving in the second quarter with a sprained ankle after completing 12-of-18 passes for 115 yards.
It was a memorable day for Troy Brown , who scored on a 55-yard punt return, scooped up a blocked field goal and lateraled the ball to Antwan Harris for another touchdown and caught eight passes for 121 yards.
Brady, Brown, kicker Adam Vinatieri , tackle Matt Light , defensive end Richard Seymour and linebackers Tedy Bruschi , Mike Vrabel and Willie McGinest are the many Patriots who remain from a team that went on to upset St. Louis, 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI under coach Bill Belichick.
The Steelers also have many holdovers from the 2001 team, including running back Jerome Bettis , receivers Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress , guard Alan Faneca , center Jeff Hartings , defensive ends Aaron Smith and Kimo von Oelhoffen and linebackers Joey Porter and Kendrell Bell . But the quarterback was Kordell Stewart , who threw for 255 yards and ran for 41, but also was intercepted three times.
Now the quarterback is Ben Roethlisberger , the NFL Rookie of the Year who is unbeaten at 14-0. One of those wins was a 34-20 victory over the Patriots on October 31.
It was the first regular-season loss for the Patriots in 399 days. They set NFL records with 21 consecutive wins, including playoffs, and 18 straight regular-season victories.
But Brady committed three turnovers while Roethlisberger played a mistake-free game and connected with Burress on a pair of touchdowns.
Roethlisberger was aided by a strong running game. Duce Staley rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries for his fourth 100-yard game of the season and Bettis added 65 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
"They handed it to us up there," Brady said. "All we wanted was another crack at them after we lost there and now we have it."
But this time the Pats will have Corey Dillon . New England's leading rusher with 1,635 yards, Dillon missed the first meeting with a thigh injury. Without Dillon, the Pats had minus-1 yard rushing on four carries in the first half and ran the ball only twice in the second half, finishing with five yards on six carries.
Cowher couldn't have scripted it any better. The Steelers jumped to a 21-3 lead in the first quarter as Roethlisberger hit Burress with touchdowns of 47 and four yards and cornerback Deshea Townsend returned an interception 39 yards for a score.
The Patriots also lost star cornerback Ty Law in that game due to a broken left foot and the Steelers took advantage, burning replacement Randall Gay on Burress' first touchdown.
However, now Gay is more acclimated to Belichick's defensive schemes. Without Law and Tyrone Poole , the team's other starting cornerback, the Patriots stifled two-time MVP Peyton Manning and the NFL's highest-scoring offense last week in a 20-3 victory.
Now the onus will be on Roethlisberger to figure out Belichick's multiple fronts and disguised coverages. No rookie quarterback has ever led his team to the Super Bowl.
The Steelers are riding a franchise-best 15-game winning streak, but barely survived last week with a 20-17 overtime win over the New York Jets in the divisional playoff. Doug Brien missed two field goals for the Jets in the final 2:02 of regulation.
Roethlisberger struggled in his first playoff game, completing 17-of-30 passes for 181 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was returned 86 yards for a score.
Brady never has lost in the postseason, compiling a 7-0 record to go with his two Super Bowl MVP awards. Last week, he threw for a touchdown and ran for another and Dillon rushed for 144 yards on 23 carries in the win over the Colts.
No one probably appreciated playing in a postseason game more than Dillon, who was acquired by New England from the Cincinnati Bengals in the offseason. In Dillon's seven years in Cincinnati, the Bengals went 34-78 and failed to make the playoffs.
A win Sunday would put the defending champions in the Super Bowl for the third time in four years. The last team to achieve that was the Dallas Cowboys in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
Matchup to watch: Steelers right guard Keydrick Vincent faces left inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi , who recovered two fumbles and forced one in last week's playoff win over Indianapolis.
Series: Pittsburgh leads, 12-5.