Rookie mistakes help sink Steelers

PITTSBURGH -- This time he looked like a rookie, not the wunderkind who had marched through his first NFL season without a loss as a starter, not the quarterback whom Dallas coach Bill Parcells called the best rookie since Dan Marino.

For Ben Roethlisberger, last night's AFC Championship game against the Patriots was not the celebration he and the majority of the record Heinz Field crowd of 65,242 had hoped it would be. Instead of reaching the Super Bowl against the cross-state Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers and Roethlisberger said their goodbyes following a 41-27 spanking by the Patriots.

The former, current, and perhaps future Super Bowl champions intercepted Roethlisberger's first pass, and before the crowd could whip their Terrible Towels into a frenzy on the frigid 11-degree evening (minus-1 windchill), the Patriots had 24-3 halftime lead.

Roethlisberger set an NFL record by winning his first 14 starts, including the playoffs. But in a 20-17 overtime victory over the Jets last weekend in which he was picked off twice, one got the feeling the Steelers won despite their QB. Last night you saw a different portrait of the rookie, a view of the season as a whole with ups and downs.

When asked if he considered his rookie season a success despite the loss, Roethlisberger shook his head. "The ultimate goal is to win the Super Bowl," he said. "So I can't say it was successful."

The Steelers fell short partly because of Roethlisberger, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times, including one safety Rodney Harrison returned 87 yards for a 24-3 lead.

The Steelers had hoped for a different ending after a 15-1 regular season, which included a 34-20 victory over the Patriots Oct. 31. They had the best record in the NFL, were playing at home, and had the incentive of knocking off the defending champions.

But from the start, the Patriots showed they were better and just as hungry.

"They're good, very good, they did what they had to do," said Steelers quarterbacks coach Mark Whipple. "And [Patriots quarterback Tom] Brady made big-time plays. We didn't."

They tried. Even after the Patriots had extended their lead to 31-10 in the third quarter, the Steelers had a comeback plan as they cut the margin to 31-17 and were on the Patriots' 2-yard line with almost a full quarter left to play.

But Steelers coach Bill Cowher opted for a 20-yard field goal instead of a fourth-down gamble and Pittsburgh seemingly lost its momentum. "It's Coach's decision and you have to respect that," said wide receiver Antwaan Randle El, who was held to three catches for 52 yards and no touchdowns. "The last game we took the ball away from them. This was the absolute opposite."

The Patriots -- especially Brady, who had a pair of first-half touchdown passes -- established control from the start. And it caught the Steelers by surprise.

"Going into the game, I really felt like it was our time to win," said outside linebacker Joey Porter. "But from the start, they outplayed us. It was like what we did to them the first time."

Asked if losing at Heinz Field for the first time all season added to the sting, Steelers center Jeff Hartings responded, "It's a disappointment. And it doesn't matter where the game is played when you lose.

"It was just a matter of not turning the ball over."

For that, Roethlisberger felt responsible. "I felt like I let my teammates down, I let the fans down, I let the city of Pittsburgh down," he said.