Oct 31 2004
Halftime: Steelers 24, Patriots 10
Before anyone says anything, here’s my take:
Kicking the field goal on 4th and goal from the 1-yard line with 2:09 left was exactly the right thing for Pittsburgh to do. New England is famous for its goal-line stands, and there’s no real need for the Steelers to score a TD when they already have an 18-point lead. You don’t take points off the board.
On the other hand, the Pats did make good adjustments on their last possession of the second half, moving Tom Brady back into the shotgun and giving him more time to dodge the blitz and find receivers. The only thing they did wrong was give the Steelers too much time to make a drive of their own at the end of the half. A horribly timed holding penalty, however, prevented the Steelers from setting up a field goal attempt. Those are the kind of mistakes you cannot make against the Pats.
Some halftime stats:
Ben Roethlisberger — 14-for-18, 164 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT.
Tom Brady — 11-for-21, 113 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
Duce Staley — 17 carries for 70 yards.
Kevin Faulk — 3 carries for -2 yards.
Stay tuned, folks. This second half should be fun…
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