PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The New England Patriots turned Big Ben into Gentle Ben, and transformed the NFL's best-record team into another overwhelmed opponent that couldn't match the big plays they made, the intensity they brought or the leadership they possess.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and their 15-game winning streak weren't nearly good enough to beat the Patriots with the AFC championship on the line, not even in the stadium where New England was overwhelmed 2 1/2 months before.
The Patriots' 41-27 rout Sunday night sends them to their third Super Bowl in four seasons -- this time, against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 6 in Jacksonville -- and was just another in an ever-growing series of playoff performances that could soon stamp them as one of the best teams ever.
Tom Brady was too precise, too determined, and too experienced for Steelers rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to match. Roethlisberger tried getting away with the same mistakes he made in a great-escape overtime win over the New York Jets the week before but didn't come close.
Not against this team, this quarterback, this coach, not even during this improbable Steelers season that saw them end the Patriots' record 21-game streak 34-20 on Oct. 31. That was a bad-as-it-sounds performance that has driven New England ever since.
It certainly motivated coach Bill Belichick, who blistered his team after what he felt was a poor practice last Wednesday.