I'll be live-blogging the Steelers-Patriots game, a last-minute decision since I've not had particularly good nights when I've live-blogged my teams. (See Notre Dame vs USC, and talk to Folsom James, who's still laughing.)

5:45 - Patriots up 3-0 after a Ben Roethlisberger interception. The defense held the Pats to a single first down, but it was still good enough for the FG.

5:47 - Yeah, let's stick to the Bus for a while.

5:51 - Fourth and 1? Go for it!

5:52 - Dammit, quit listening to me.

5:53 - I should mention that the Philadelphia Eagles finally beat the hex and the Atlanta Falcons today, 27-10, finally advancing to the Super Bowl. I'm hoping for an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. Any Penn bloggers out there hoping for the same thing?

5:56 - 10-0 Pats after a pretty pass play down the middle. Yikes.

6:01 - Fourth and two? Don't go for it.

6:07 - Good defensive series by the Steelers, and the offense starts in NE territory. We need some points now.

6:12 - 10-3 Pats after a Steelers FG. Roethlisberger still looks out of rhythm, but he threw a nice first-down pass. They should try more of that.

6:22 - Another good defensive series for Pittsburgh. NE has an edge on field position now, and I suspect R'berger will be passing on first down to try to stretch the field a bit and open up the run.

6:24 - Yes, they stopped listening to me. Good.

6:30 - Both defenses appear to be stiffening. After a good roll on the punt, the field position has returned to a more neutral state. If the Steelers can get a three-and-out, they may have a better shot in their next series.

6:35 - 17-3 Pats. Two big plays did in the Steelers defense, and the Pats are playing like champs tonight.

6:39 - Duce Staley gets three up the middle. It's been a while since we've seen Jerome Bettis. Maybe Cowher's saving Bettis for the second half? Nice first down for the Steelers.

6:44 - 24-3 Pats. Rookie mistakes by R'berger and a cunning play by the Pats secondary to pick the pass and return it for the TD. This is what we all feared after the Jets game.

6:54 - Halftime. 24-3. I recall that the USC Trojans beat Notre Dame in 1977 (nope, 1974. HT: pflefler) 55-24 after being down 24-6 at the half ... but that's one hell of a long shot here. The Pats have dominated on defense.

7:11 - The Steelers' D comes to play in the second half. Two straight plays pushing the Pats backwards on a three-and-out. The announcers talk about Tommy Maddox coming in for Roethlisberger, but I think you have to play with the one who brung ya. Let's see if he can turn it around in the second half.

7:17 - Turnaround? The Bus provides the Steelers with a U-turn and takes the ball into the goal. 24-10 Pats, but at least it looks like the Steelers are back in the game.

7:30 - I predict the turnover gets overturned by the replay challenge.

7:32 - The Pats get the ball back, and the next play they take it to the house. The verrrrry quite house. Pats 31-10.

7:45 - Phone calls -- it may be a few more minutes before I can post.

8:15 - I'm back. 34-20 Pats. I think the Steelers have played better this half, but not well enough to turn the game around. They need a quick strike and a defensive big play.

8:28 - This is getting rather depressing. The Steelers' D can't keep up with Tom Brady, even if they've stuffed Corey Dillon all night long.

8:35 - That puts an end to the game, for all purposes. Deion Branch scores the killer TD on an end-around to make the score 41-20. I don't see how these guys can be beat in Jacksonville, either.

8:43 - At least the Steelers and Roethlisberger didn't lay down. They scored a trash-time TD to bring the score back to a 14-point gap.

I think the Steelers and R'berger are still one or two years from being dominant, but the question will be if R'berger can handle the big-time loss in the offseason. He has plenty of talent and looks like he's got the heart. We'll see next season.

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Tracked on January 23, 2005 9:36 PM