An advantage? Good question
The NFL season has primarily been an exercise in watching the Patriots and Steelers dismantle their opposition on a weekly basis, and then trying to predict which one will blink first and lose home field for a possible playoff game.
With both teams at 12-1, the Steelers having handed the Patriots their lone loss, we're down to the final three weeks of the regular season. The battle for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs is becoming more real, and at least based on strength of schedule, it appears the Patriots have the edge. Two of the Patriots' remaining three opponents are teams competing for the No. 1 overall pick in the draft -- Miami on Monday night at Pro Player Stadium and San Francisco Jan. 2 at Gillette Stadium. Their only toughie is against the Jets the day after Christmas. The Steelers have their cupcake this Sunday against the free-falling Giants, but then must face Baltimore (who beat the Steelers for their only loss, 30-13, in Week 2) and Buffalo, both teams vying for playoff spots.
Both the Patriots and Steelers are equipped to run the table, but you get the sense one will slip before the playoffs. The Patriots' tough match could be against a fired-up Jets team at the Meadowlands. The Jets played the Patriots tough at Gillette in a 13-7 loss. The Steelers could well meet their match against the Ravens, who match the Steelers' toughness, or the Bills, who have turned their season around.
A sidelight to the Steelers-Bills game will be Buffalo coach Mike Mularkey and president Tom Donahoe facing their former organization. And Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe will be playing against a Steelers team he beat in the AFC Championship game Jan. 27, 2002, when he relieved an injured Tom Brady to help lead the Patriots.
But how important is home field?
If you're a true champion, does it matter where you play? Home field is a factor, but a team's heart, will, and hunger are more important. Nobody knows that better than the 2001 Steelers, who were 10-point favorites in the AFC title game at Pittsburgh.
On the other hand, the Patriots likely won the greatest home-field advantage game of all time that postseason -- the Snow Bowl against Oakland when Adam Vinatieri made two huge kicks through a snowstorm.
The 2003 Patriots were also proof that home field is important, getting by the Titans and then beating the Colts, both at Gillette Stadium, to reach the Super Bowl.
This week, some Steelers were even making a case for preferring to play on the road. As Hines Ward told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "You ever see `Rocky IV' when he goes to Russia?" Fellow receiver Plaxico Burress said, "I love playing on the road. We play with more focus. We're a better team on the road."
Neither team, however, is a slam dunk to go 3-0 the rest of the way. The Patriots appeared vulnerable in a 35-28 win last Sunday over visiting Cincinnati, when the Bengals seemed to have the right offensive game plan, minus the turnovers, against a defense that allowed nearly 500 yards. The Steelers appeared on the verge of defeat two weeks ago against Jacksonville before mismanagement of the clock by Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio allowed Pittsburgh to drive for the winning field goal in the last minute.
The Patriots and Steelers may have weaknesses, but there is no doubt they are the two most complete teams in the AFC, and likely in all of football. The Eagles are the third 12-1 team, but they play in the much inferior NFC. The Patriots have been to the NFL mountaintop twice in the last three years. They have experienced players, a two-time Super Bowl MVP quarterback in Brady, whom you'd have to give the edge in a matchup with Steelers rookie Ben Roethlisberger. And yet you can't say that for certain because back on Halloween, Roethlisberger outperformed Brady.The Steelers clearly lived up to their nickname the last time the teams met. They roughed up the Patriots in the trenches, which has rarely been done in the recent past. These may be the two toughest teams in football, with all due respect to the Ravens and Jets, but in their meeting, the Steelers were clearly the bullies. The Patriots didn't have much of an answer for anything the Steelers threw at them that day, but Steelers coach Bill Cowher faces the added pressure of needing to get beyond an AFC Championship game. In the end, home field is great, but neither of these teams would be overwhelmed by playing the AFC Championship game on the road. When you're good, you're good anywhere.
