Steelers defenders lament lack of execution against Tom Brady, Patriots
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The play was a microcosm of the Pittsburgh Steelers' game Sunday – and their frustration on defense.
On first-and-10 from the Steelers' 19-yard line, with the Patriots leading by 11, running back LeGarrette Blount took a handoff from quarterback Tom Brady. Blount found a hole at the line and followed a seam up the middle to the 11, where he appeared to be stopped by a defender.
Instead, Blount kept plowing and pounding, adding defenders to the mass as he thundered his way to the 1-yard line. It took eight Pittsburgh players to bring him down. The 18-yard run was the longest gain on his 16 carries, as he finished with 47 yards.
On the next play, Blount rammed his way into the end zone on what may have been the breaking point in the Patriots' 36-17 AFC Championship Game win.
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The loss snapped the Steelers nine-game win streak, during which their defense had been so important and aggressive, constantly pressuring opponents. During the win streak, Pittsburgh held opponents to an average of 16.5 points a game. The Patriots had 17 by halftime.
“It wasn’t effective,” said Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said of his defense’s attempts at pressuring. “We did at times, and when we did, it wasn’t effective as we would like it to be. They made some quick throws.
“The style of play of the game was probably what was most disappointing. It leaned more towards their style of play than our style of play and that’s not what we wanted.”
The disappointment was palpable for Pittsburgh's defenders.
“They just out-executed us,” said linebacker James Harrison. “They did a better job of executing their game plan while we did a poor job.
“They did not out-physical us, they did not push us around. The out-executed us. They sped up tempo and did what they had to do to win.”
But it wasn’t just Blount. The Patriots offense had its way with the Steelers defense. Chris Hogan (with a postseason franchise-record 180 yards receiving) and Julian Edelman (118) became the first Patriots teammates with 100-plus yards in the same game – the first time Hogan has ever reached that milestone or had two touchdowns in a game. Brady threw for 384 yards, extending his NFL record with 11 postseason games of 300-plus yards. He threw three touchdowns without an interception.
“I don’t really know what to think,” said linebacker Ryan Shazier, whose streak of games with an interception was snapped at four. “(The Patriots) were definitely the better team today. I will definitely be sucking in this whole moment. I promise every game next year I will have this moment in the back of my head.
“I definitely don’t think we got enough pressure on (Brady) tonight. Normally we get turnovers and sacks when we get pressure on the quarterback the way we want to. We didn’t do that today and he was able to throw for (over) 300 yards and I don’t we have given up 300 yards in a while.”
But it was not unexpected. Brady improved to 10-2 against the Steelers.
“That’s what they do,” said linebacker Lawrence Timmons. “They’ve been doing it for a long time. I thought we had a good enough game plan to go out there and get things done. But we didn’t, unfortunately.”
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