STEELERS 33, PATRIOTS 3
In the very first meeting between the two franchises, the Steelers — armed with the likes of Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Andy Russell, Dwight White, Terry Bradshaw — took it hard to the Patriots at Three Rivers Stadium, running up a 20-0 score before allowing the Pats their solitary score, a 16-yard Charlie Gogolak field goal. Roy Gerela connected on four field goals. Later that season, Harris would make his famed Immaculate Reception in the Steelers' first NFL playoff game.
(*Editor's note: That's not a photo from the 1972 game; we couldn't find one. Instead, it's from 1970. Close enough.)
STEELERS 16, PATRIOTS 13
After winning their third Super Bowl title, the Steelers opened the season in New England on a Monday night. The Pats had a 13-6 lead going into the fourth quarter, and it took a 21-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw to Sidney Thornton to bring the Steelers back even, sending the game into overtime. In the extra frame, Matt Bahr drilled a 41-yard field goal to win it for the good guys. A great start to what would turn out to be the Steelers' fourth Super Bowl title season.
STEELERS 24, PATRIOTS 9
The setting was Three Rivers Stadium, and The Emperor was poised to win his 200th game. It didn't start well: Tim Worley coughed up the ball on the Steelers' first play from scrimmage. But the Pats gave it right back again, and the Steelers never looked back. The great Merrill Hoge ran for 117 yards with two touchdowns. The Steelers did Coach Noll proud that day.
PATRIOTS 28, STEELERS 3
It was a foggy mess in Pittsburgh the first time these two teams met up in the postseason. Bill Cowher's Steelers were defending their AFC champion status. At 10-6, they traveled to Foxboro Stadium where they ran into (or rather go run over by) Curtis Martin who ran for 166 yards, including a 78-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter. They Steelers were never in this game, one that was more significant for being Rod Woodson's last for the Black and Gold.
STEELERS 7, PATRIOTS 6
Vengeance is sweet. And the Steelers got some, although at 7-6, it wasn't so much vengeance as squeaking by. The Steelers could only manage a 40-yard Kordell Stewart run down the sidelines in the first quarter. But that was it, as the team held the Patriots to just two field goals. Drew Bledsoe would lead his team to midfield in the final minute of the game, only to have it stripped from him by Mike Vrabel, with Jason Gildon recovering the fumble. Victory!
PATRIOTS 24, STEELERS 17
It was the first Steelers-Pats game of the Tom Brady era — not to mention the first time the teams met in the AFC Championship Game. But Brady would see less than two quarters of action, as safety Lee Flowers knocked him out of the game with a sack. So, in came Drew Bledsoe, who had lost his job earlier that season to the second-year Brady. While he didn't light it up, Bledsoe was decent enough, helped by a 55-yard punt return for a TD by Troy Brown. The Steelers were down 21-3 early in the 3rd quarter, but pulled to 21-17 by start of the 4th. However, Kordell Stewart tossed 2 INTs in the final 3 minutes (he had 3 INTs on the day). It was the first of three straight AFC title game losses to the Pats.
STEELERS 34, PATRIOTS 20
The Patriots were crusin' a 21-game winning streak coming into this Week 9 matchup. And it felt freakin' amazing to crush that for them. A fresh, young rookie named Ben Roethlisberger led his team out to a 21-0 lead in just the first quarter — thanks to a pair of TD passes to Plaxico Burress (Deshea Townsend's 39-yard pick-6 accounted for the other score). The Pats turned it over four times. If you check the box score, that's not a mistake: The Patriots did only rush for five yards. Five!
PATRIOTS 41, STEELERS 27
Remember how good it felt to knock the 21-game win streak out from under the Patriots? Yeah, this was the same feeling — only the exact opposite. The Pats were already up 17-3 when Rodney Harrison jumped the route and easily snagged Big Ben's throw and basically strolled down the sideline 87 yards for a pick six. Fucker! That was but one of the Steelers' four turnovers on the day. (The Pats went on to beat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.)
STEELERS 25, PATRIOTS 17
Damn, that was a long time ago. But what a fun game that was. The Steelers seemed in control most of the game, holding the Brady and the Patriots to just 17 points (and a missed field goal). Ben Roethlisberger completed 36 of his 50 passes for 365 yards, with 2 TDs and 1 INT. This really was long ago. Why? The Steelers team included the likes of Troy Polamalu, Brett Keisel and someone named Heath Miller.
PATRIOTS 28, STEELERS 21
Despite Big Ben throwing for 351 yards. Despite DeAngelo Williams rushing for 127 yards. The Steelers just couldn't handle the Super Bowl defenders in their season opener. Of course, this was the game that Tom Brady was supposed to miss because of Deflategate, but didn't. It was the game the Le'Veon Bell was supposed to miss because of his marijuana possession, and did. It was also the game that coach Mike Tomlin complained that his coaches' headsets were filled with Patriots' radio broadcast. Not a good beginning.
PATRIOTS 36, STEELERS 17
We know this was just 11 months ago, but it still feels too fresh for our liking. Set at Gillette Stadium, the Steelers were just never in this game, with their secondary getting picked apart by Tom Brady, who tossed for 384 yards with 3 TDs, including a 34-yard flee-flicker play to Chris Hogan (see above). The Black and Gold was down 36-9 before getting a meaningless touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Obviously, the Pats went on to with the Super Bowl — the first one to go to overtime.
Look, we're all pumped AF for Sunday's matchup against the New England Patriots.
(Have we mentioned how much we hate Tom Brady? We do.)
When the teams take the field, it will be the 31st meeting between them (five of those have been in the postseason). The Steelers are 11-9 at home and 4-6 on the road. They've scored a total of 651 points (to the Pats' 682). The Steelers are currently on a four-game losing streak to the Pats; their longest win streak (five games) went from 1989 to 1995.
In anticipation of the game, let's look back at some of the best games between the two franchises.