In a playoff game a week ago against the New York Jets, Ben Roethlisberger threw two costly interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. His Pittsburgh Steelers managed to survive two field goal attempts in the final two minutes of regulation before winning in overtime to advance to Sunday's AFC championship game here against the New England Patriots.
Roethlisberger picked a poor time to play like a rookie and finish with his second-lowest passer rating of the season (57.8).
"I'm going to try not to play as bad as I played last week," Roethlisberger, who is undefeated in 14 NFL starts and has helped lead the Steelers to a 16-1 record, said Friday. "You have to go in and play loose and play my style of game. I have to play within the system, play within myself and try not to do too much. I was extremely excited last week. Maybe I was too excited. This week it'll be, 'Don't do too much, be one cog of the wheel' and hope the wheel turns good."
Said Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress: "The guy led us to the AFC championship. Nobody is worried about him. We're just worried about going out and winning as a team. This is not about one person."
Roethlisberger performed like a veteran when the Steelers played the Patriots (15-2) here Oct. 31. In only his fifth start since replacing Tommy Maddox, who was injured in the second game of the year, Roethlisberger completed 18 of 24 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns for a 126.4 passer rating in a 34-20 win. The Steelers scored 24 straight points in the first half — 21 in the first quarter — and ended the Patriots' NFL-record winning streak at 21 games.
One observer, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, said this week that he expects Roethlisberger to bounce back.
"Anyone who is a competitor, if you have a tough game like that where you don't play as well as you'd like and then you have another opportunity, the great competitor plays better the next week," said Brady, who is 7-0 in the postseason. "It gets you back to, 'Okay, let's go back to fundamentals. I'm not taking anything for granted.' I know our defense is expecting him to rebound. He's done it all year, and I know they have an awful lot of confidence in him."
For help, Roethlisberger can turn to the Steelers' power running. In the Halloween game between the teams, Pittsburgh rushed for 221 yards, averaging 4.5 yards a carry. Duce Staley gained 125 yards on 25 carries, and Jerome Bettis had 65 on 15 attempts. The Patriots are expecting more of the same because playing conditions — the forecast calls for temperatures in the teens and flurries one day after a predicted snowstorm — likely will include a soft, muddy field that may not be conducive to wide-open passing.
"You really have to bring your lunch when you tackle these guys because they are big, physical guys, even at quarterback," said Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi. "When you don't bring Roethlisberger down the first time, he'll throw it deep to Plaxico Burress."
Roethlisberger and the offense will play a Patriots defense that was ranked ninth overall, but 17th against the pass. Once again, New England will be short-handed in the secondary without injured cornerbacks Ty Law and Tyrone Poole. They'll be replaced by rookie Randall Gay and second-year player Asante Samuel. Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour may miss his third straight game with a sore knee.
To compensate, Coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel are likely to try to confuse Roethlisberger with a variety of new looks and disguised blitz packages. New England has won 13 straight games against quarterbacks it has faced a second time in a season.
Pittsburgh can take some of the pressure off Roethlisberger and the offense with a strong defensive showing. The Steelers have the league's top-ranked defense, giving up 15.7 points a game. They love to blitz from all places and sacked Brady — as New England lost its starting tackles — four times on Oct. 31. He was intercepted twice, with one returned for a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 21-point first quarter.
The Steelers know they'll face the same sort of problem when dealing with 225-pound running back Corey Dillon, who did not play in the first game because of a thigh injury. He is fully healed, evidenced by the 144 yards he gained on 23 carries against the Indianapolis Colts last week in the first playoff game of his career. With Dillon, the Patriots averaged 133 yards rushing, 30 more than in 2003, allowing them to go from the 27th rushing offense to No. 7.
"He's been our workhorse," said safety Rodney Harrison. "You can't just sit back and play the pass with him in there. He's our MVP. Psychologically we have more confidence knowing we have him back there."
"Who wouldn't be excited about having a Pro Bowl player come to your offense?" Brady said. "He sets the tone. He came in and worked hard. He's a great leader, and he's got a great attitude. When you have the best running back in the league, it's a nice feeling to have. I know he's glad he's here; he's told us that a bunch of times. And we're glad to have him. I don't care what someone's reputation is, when you come to this team, you fit in."
Still, because of the weather and the field conditions, it may also come down to a field goal. Pittsburgh's Jeff Reed has kicked 19 straight field goals, including last week's 33-yard game-winner, but New England's Adam Vinatieri is clutch, with two Super Bowl-winning kicks. No kicker has made a field goal longer than 48 yards since Heinz Field opened in 2001.
"It's going to be cold, and the field is probably going to be in pretty tough shape," Vinatieri said. "So you get there early, try to figure it out and do the best you can."