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Alumni in the NFL
The Patriots took advantage of two early Kordell Stewart interceptions, turning the second into a Tom Brady to Christian Fauria four-yard touchdown to jump out to the 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. The Patriots took the ball at the Steelers 26 yard line, but needed the help of three Pittsburgh penalties, two coming on third down, to get into the end zone.
Pittsburgh answered strongly by putting together a 10-play, 74-yard scoring drive of their own that culminated in a Stewart to Hines Ward 13-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7-7. After two Patriots punts and a punt of their own, the Steelers marched all the way from their own 34 down to the New England one-yard line and looked destined to take the lead. But following three more Steelers penalties, the New England defense forced a 39-yard Todd Peterson field goal attempt that sailed wide left. The Patriots proceeded to march 44 yards on a nine-play drive that saw Brady complete six-of-eight passes to the Steelers 27-yard line where Adam Vinatieri kicked a 45-yard field goal for a 10-7 Patriots lead. The teams went into halftime with the 10-7 score in what was a less than perfectly played first half by both sides. Similarly to how the Patriots came out of the half in the Carolina preseason game, the Brady-led Patriots exploded quickly in the third quarter. New England went 74 yards in just four plays capping the offensive spurt with a 40-yard, Brady to Donald Hayes touchdown. On the play, Patriots rookie wide receiver Deion Branch made a key block to spring Hayes for the score. The other key play on the drive was a Brady to David Patten 37-yard connection on which Patten made an impressive over-the-shoulder catch deep down the right sideline. Just 1:33 into the third quarter New England had the 17-7 lead. Pittsburgh's possession on the following series was short lived, as running back Jerome Bettis fumbled on a 14-yard gain and Victor Green recovered for the Patriots on the Steelers 31-yard line. New England again took advantage of the turnover by marching 49 yards on nine plays for the score. The drive ended with a Brady to Branch 22-yard connection, on which Branch broke a tackle to scamper into the end zone for the New England 24-7 lead midway through the third. The rookie receiver finished the game tying for a team-high with six catches for 83 yards. After the game the second-round pick out of Louisville said he was almost as excited about the block he made earlier in the game as he was about his own score. "I felt like I had scored a touchdown [on Hayes' score]," Branch said. "I was real happy that Donald broke a tackle and that enabled me to get that block. I can't say it was easy out there, but we had a great game plan and we went out and did a pretty good job. I am just here to try and make plays." The New England defense forced another turnover on the Steelers ensuing possession when recently re-signed Terrell Buckley intercepted his second pass of the game on a Stewart pass tipped by Tebucky Jones. Once again the Patriots capitalized by marching 39 yards on 8 plays to kick a Vinatieri 28-yard field goal for a 27-7 lead. New England added another Vinatieri field goal, this time a 27-yarder midway through the final period to pull out to a 30-7 advantage. The Steelers added a late Stewart rushing touchdown as time expired to finalize the game scoring and give the Patriots the 30-14 win. |
