WR Branch proves to be a real sweet treat
PITTSBURGH -- The Halloween game against the Steelers had been such a nasty trick-or-treat that Deion Branch couldn't bear to watch. Being a participant in a 34-20 wipeout would have been bad enough. Being an injured, restless spectator may have been worse for a man who couldn't suit up.
"I turned the TV off midway through the fourth quarter," Branch confessed last night, after the irrepressible wide receiver created a one-man highlight film on both ends of the Patriots' startling 41-27 hammering of the hard-hatted homefolks.
This time, Branch had heartsick viewers from Altoona to Punxsutawney yanking power cords out of the wall after he darted and danced his way around right end to the 23-yard touchdown that put a boldface punctuation mark on the biggest New England victory since his star-spangled teammates defeated Carolina to win last year's Super Bowl.
It was a fitting bit of closure for the man who scored the first touchdown with less than seven minutes left in the first quarter, catching Tom Brady's 60-yard bomb over his shoulder to take the air out of 65,000 hostile throats.
"Their fans were into the game pretty early," said Branch, who ended the day with four catches for 116 yards, plus two carries for 37 yards. "We wanted to take them out of the game, and that was basically it."
Branch and running back Corey Dillon were the two weapons missing from the New England arsenal last time here. This time, they accounted for 231 yards and three touchdowns.
But it was Branch who created the shock value with his two huge catches, the touchdown and a 45-yarder midway through the second quarter that put the ball on the Pittsburgh 14 and set up the 9-yard touchdown pass to David Givens.
This on a night when the windchill was below zero. This was supposed to be a throwback football game, a classic stomping-and-snorting smashmouth grapple.
It was not supposed to be a night for the long ball. But the Patriots made it one, starting from their second possession, when Brady sent Branch to the post on the first play.
"The line just did a great job of blocking and me and Tom just did it the way we'd been doing it all week in practice," said Branch, who burned cornerback Deshea Townsend en route. "We caught them in the coverage we thought we would and made a great play. I knew I was going to get it."
It was not only the Patriots' longest pass play of the season, it was the longest postseason pass play in franchise history, eclipsing the 59-yarder from Babe Parilli to Larry Garron in 1963.
"The key to the play was Givens," said coach Bill Belichick. "He ran an overroute that ate up two routes, the corner and the safety, and Branch ended up on the post pattern."
The 45-yarder, Branch said, was all but a replay. "The coverage was a little different, so I just had to make a couple more moves."
Branch also had to withstand a fierce pop from safety Troy Polamalu that might have jarred him loose from the ball. But when Branch hung on and Brady connected with Givens two plays later to put New England up, 17-3, everybody sensed that this was going to be no Halloween rerun. "Exactly what happened in that first game, we didn't do it tonight," said Branch.
Same rival, same venue, different outcome. But the addition of one man who'd been among the missing made a huge difference last night. "Deion Branch had probably the best game of his career with his route running," said Brady.
He may stand just 5 feet 9 inches, but Branch is Little Big Man when championship season comes. Last year in the Super Bowl, he set the Patriots' playoff record with 10 catches for 143 yards. Yesterday, all he needed was four to knock the Steelers back on their heels.
Watching them manhandle his mates in October was all the incentive Branch needed. "We had a bitter taste in our mouth," he said.
Branch, who picked up 14 yards on an end-around on New England's opening play, was the sweetener. His first touchdown left the Terrible Towel wavers breathless. His second, with 2:23 to play, "kind of sealed everything," he said. Last time, Branch didn't watch the fourth quarter. This time, he won't need anyone to give him a rundown.
