PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, December 10, 2007
FOXBORO, MA - DECEMBER 9: Junior Seau #55 of the New England Patriots keeps his eyes on Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium December 9, 2007 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The Patriots won 34-13. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The second-worst part about Patriots 34, Steelers 13 is it could have been worse (Randy Moss dropped a touchdown pass and Stephen Gostkowski missed a 48-yard field goal).
The worst part, from the Steelers' perspective, is it's painfully obvious this morning that this is not 2005 and the Patriots are not the Colts.
The Steelers ventured into Indy in late November 2005 and were beaten, 26-7, but came away with a feeling they'd be able to handle Peyton Manning and the crowd noise and give a much better accounting of themselves should they be fortunate enough to play the Colts again.
The rest, particularly their 21-18 playoff triumph in Indianapolis in January 2006, is Super Bowl history.
This time around it's the Patriots who are in the process of making history.
And after becoming a footnote to history by becoming the 13th consecutive victim on what appears to be a relentless march toward 16-0, the Steelers had much more to digest than what might happen if they get another chance at the Pats.
"That's a good, heartfelt story to go back to something that happened in the past that we pulled off, but in all honesty that doesn't mean anything to this team," Steelers guard Alan Faneca said. "We come back here, we still have to go out there and play football and try to win the game; it's not just a given."
It's anything but because the Patriots are not the Colts of 2005 and the Steelers are not the Steelers of 2005.
The Steelers could run the ball then.
They no longer can.
Not when it matters.
The Patriots defense stopped Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward (86) short of the goal line on this fourth-down attempt.
(Globe Staff Photo / Jim Davis)
They put their fall from grace on the ground on film at the outset of the fourth quarter, when, trailing 31-13 but a mere 1 yard away from threatening to make a game of it again, the Steelers tried a pass and a gadget play to get the TD they desperately needed.
In their defense, they had intended to run it up the gut on third-and-goal from the New England 1-yard line, but the offense sensed a bunching Patriots defense was all over that and sight-adjusted to a fade to wide receiver Santonio Holmes.
Veteran safety Rodney Harrison was all over that, as well, which left the Steelers confronting fourth-and-goal from the 1.
They came up with an empty-backfield set and opted for a sweep to motioning wide receiver Hines Ward.
Tackle Willie Colon got blown up.
Ward got blown up.
And the Steelers' reputation as a team to be feared on the ground was likewise blasted into oblivion.
Forget Willie Parker's standing among his fellow rushers or the Steelers' ranking in rushing offense.
Those statistics mean nothing after such a development.
The Steelers don't have a back or a play they can count on when they have to have a yard at crunch time.
A touchdown there would have only delayed the inevitable, but at least the Steelers could have emerged feeling a little bit better about themselves and their game.
Instead, they exited having exposed a problem that must be solved before they can begin to think seriously about winning a playoff game, let alone writing a different script in a New England rematch.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
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