Conference Championships: New England Patriots travel to face Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field, one win from a Super Bowl berth. Kickoff: Sun January 27, 2002 at 12:40pm. Winner advances to the Super Bowl. Loser carries one of the year's hardest what-ifs into the offseason.[1][2]
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers in the Conference Championships, with a Super Bowl berth on the line. The conference title round is the one that turns nameplates into legacy. For Pittsburgh Steelers, the home crowd at Heinz Field is asked to be a player; for New England Patriots, the road environment is supposed to be the test that breaks lesser teams. Coaches will lean on what worked all year. Players will lean on what their bodies have left in them.
New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers have outlasted everyone else in their conference. One walks out of Heinz Field with the conference title; the other walks out with a brutal what-if. Around the league, coaches are watching tape on both staffs for next year's prep. Every Super Bowl-bound team starts the offseason as the team to beat.
New England Patriots versus Pittsburgh Steelers in the Conference Championships. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New England Patriots-Pittsburgh Steelers cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 13-3 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 10-6 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7-9 | L1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 7-9 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6-10 | W2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | W2 |
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W6 |
| New York Jets | 10-6 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 6-10 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 10-6 | L3 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 9-7 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 8-8 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 6-10 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-11 | L9 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Rams | 14-2 | W6 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 7-9 | L4 |
| Carolina Panthers | 1-15 | L15 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 13-3 | W4 |
| Green Bay Packers | 12-4 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9-7 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-11 | L4 |
| Detroit Lions | 2-14 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11-5 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-8 | W2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 7-9 | -- |
| New York Giants | 7-9 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-11 | L1 |
2001 - AFC Championship - New England @ Pittsburgh
2001 AFC Championship New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
2001 AFC Championship New England Patriots @ Pittsburgh Steelers; CBS Bledsoe 2001-02
2001 AFC Championship Patriots at Steelers
2001 AFC Championship: Patriots at Steelers
2001 AFC Championship Game New England v Pittsburgh
2001 AFC Championship Patriots vs Steelers Highlights (CBS Intro)
Patriots Top Plays from the 2001 AFC Championship Game | ThrowbackNew England Patriots None, Pittsburgh Steelers None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 714212424 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 03171717 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Troy Brown 55 yard punt return ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 7-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Steelers | Kris Brown 30 yard field goal | 7-3 |
| Patriots | David Patten 11 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 14-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Antwan Harris 49 yard blocked field goal return ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 21-3 |
| Steelers | Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( Kris Brown kick) | 21-10 |
| Steelers | Amos Zereoue 11 yard rush ( Kris Brown kick) | 21-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Adam Vinatieri 44 yard field goal | 24-17 |
New England Patriots defeated Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 at Heinz Field in the Conference Championships. The final scoring play was Patriots: Adam Vinatieri 44 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Kordell Stewart: 255 pass yards on 24-of-42, 0 TD, 3 INT. New England Patriots advance to the Super Bowl.[1][2]
New England Patriots walked out of Heinz Field as the team that survived a Conference Championships Pittsburgh Steelers will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 24-17. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Patriots: Adam Vinatieri 44 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. New England Patriots are bound for the Super Bowl.
New England Patriots 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 17. Round: Conference Championships. Attendance: 64704. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 3 scoring plays. Q4: 1 scoring play. Top performers:
- Kordell Stewart: 255 pass yards on 24-of-42, 0 TD, 3 INT
- Troy Brown: 8 catches for 121 yards
Conference Championships, played at Heinz Field. Final: New England Patriots 24, Pittsburgh Steelers 17, with New England Patriots taking the result by 7. **First quarter**
- Patriots: Troy Brown 55 yard punt return ( Adam Vinatieri kick)
Second quarter
- Steelers: Kris Brown 30 yard field goal
- Patriots: David Patten 11 yard pass from Drew Bledsoe ( Adam Vinatieri kick)
Third quarter
- Patriots: Antwan Harris 49 yard blocked field goal return ( Adam Vinatieri kick)
- Steelers: Jerome Bettis 1 yard rush ( Kris Brown kick)
- Steelers: Amos Zereoue 11 yard rush ( Kris Brown kick)
Fourth quarter
- Patriots: Adam Vinatieri 44 yard field goal
Top performers
- Kordell Stewart: 255 pass yards on 24-of-42, 0 TD, 3 INT
- Troy Brown: 8 catches for 121 yards
| Patriots | Steelers | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 15 | 23 |
| Total Yards | 259 | 306 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 4 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 22/39 | 24/42 |
| Pass yards | 217 | 255 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 3 |
| Sacks taken | 4 | 3 |
| Sack yards lost | 25 | 7 |
| Net pass yards | 192 | 248 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 25 | 22 |
| Rush yards | 67 | 58 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 1 |
| Penalties | 12 | 3 |
| Penalty yards | 87 | 25 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | |||||
| Tom Brady | 12/18 | 115 | 0 | 0 | |
| Drew Bledsoe | 10/21 | 102 | 1 | 0 | |
| PIT | |||||
| Kordell Stewart | 24/42 | 255 | 0 | 3 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Antowain Smith | 15 | 47 | 0 | 19 |
| J.R. Redmond | 3 | 13 | 0 | 7 |
| Tom Brady | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Marc Edwards | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Drew Bledsoe | 4 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| PIT | ||||
| Kordell Stewart | 8 | 41 | 0 | 34 |
| Amos Zereoue | 4 | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Jerome Bettis | 9 | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| Hines Ward | 1 | -2 | 0 | -2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Troy Brown | 8 | 121 | 0 | 28 |
| David Patten | 4 | 39 | 1 | 15 |
| Marc Edwards | 4 | 26 | 0 | 7 |
| Charles Johnson | 2 | 22 | 0 | 15 |
| Jermaine Wiggins | 2 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| J.R. Redmond | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| PIT | ||||
| Plaxico Burress | 5 | 67 | 0 | 16 |
| Hines Ward | 6 | 64 | 0 | 24 |
| Amos Zereoue | 4 | 50 | 0 | 19 |
| Jerome Bettis | 2 | 23 | 0 | 12 |
| Troy Edwards | 2 | 16 | 0 | 9 |
| Dan Kreider | 2 | 13 | 0 | 9 |
| Matt Cushing | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Bobby Shaw | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Jerame Tuman | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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