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Patriots beat Steelers, will meet Falcons in Super Bowl
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THE New England Patriots scored the first 19 points of the second half to turn a tight contest into a romp as they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 on Sunday to set up a Super Bowl clash against the high-scoring Atlanta Falcons.
The American Football Conference (AFC) Championship triumph propelled the Patriots to a record ninth trip to the Super Bowl, while Atlanta walloped the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC Championship game earlier on Sunday to earn a shot at their first league title in their Super showdown in Houston on February 5.
Victory was extra sweet for the Patriots and Brady, who was suspended by the NFL for the first four games of the season for his role in the controversial underinflation of balls in the AFC title game two years ago that came to be known as Deflategate.
New England began the season 3-1 before Brady rejoined them and took them to a 14-2 regular season record and a winning streak that has now reached nine games.
Brady, who completed 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns, avoided saying he felt extra motivation after accepting a suspension he did not feel he deserved.
“This is my motivation right here, all these fellows right here in front of me. That’s why we’re here,” Brady said at the trophy presentation as he gestured toward his teammates. “We’ll see if we can write the perfect ending in a couple of weeks. It’s going to take a big effort. We’re playing a great team, but it’s going to be a hell of a game.”
The Steelers, who were also vying to become the first team to make a ninth Super Bowl appearance, stopped the Patriots’ running attack, but had a hard time containing Brady and his stable of receivers, most notably Chris Hogan.
Playing in his 11th conference title game, Brady spread the field with his receivers and time and again found Hogan, hitting him with first-half scoring strikes of 34 and 16 yards as New England took a 17-9 lead at intermission. The long TD catch by Hogan came on a trick play known as a flea flicker.
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