Pittsburgh Steelers Down Tom Brady and New England Patriots, Sit Atop AFC

The Pittsburgh Steelers put any doubts regarding their legitimacy in the AFC to rest with their 25-17 victory over Tom Brady and his New England Patriots.

While Tom Brady has dominated the Steelers (6-1 in his career coming into Sunday's game), Pittsburgh showed that history is not always due to repeat itself.

The Steelers won playing Patriot football. 

Getting away from the power running game that has been such a huge part of its offense, Pittsburgh took to the air to exploit a Patriots defense that was ranked last in the NFL.  With a season-high 50 pass attempts, Roethlisberger out-dueled Tom Brady on his way to 365 yards passing and two touchdowns.

While Roethlisberger was moving the ball down the field seemingly at will, it was a different story for Tom Brady. 

A New England offense that was averaging well over 400 yards a game was held to a season-low 213 yards of offense, or about half the total yardage of Pittsburgh's offense (427).  Tom Brady threw for less than 200 yards (198), and the leading rusher for New England was 35-year-old Kevin Faulk (32 yards). 

Whether they want to admit it or not, there are some problems that need addressed.

The Steelers offense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes, controlling the clock with an aerial assault that featured nine different pass-catchers.  It was clear Roethlisberger had no problem spreading the ball around.  Completing short passes on first and second down, Roethlisberger was able to pick up positive yardage and avoid 3rd-and-long.  This allowed him more manageable third-down conversions and kept the Patriots defense on the field.

The Pittsburgh defense also put up one of its best performances of the season.  Though Harrison and Farrior were inactive with injuries, Woodley stepped it up (two sacks), and the Steelers proved they are deep enough at linebacker to compete with any team in the AFC.

While they only had three sacks and technically didn't force any turnovers, the Steelers were able to put pressure on Tom Brady.  They brought more pressure from up the middle and got into Brady's face, affecting his vision and forcing hurried and erratic throws.

Though they traditionally play a zone defense, LeBeau had the Steelers playing more man coverage against the Patriots receivers.  They eliminated those soft spots that Tom Brady normally exploits in a zone defense.  The corners shut down the Patriots receivers and, without a reliable running game, the Patriots were no match for this Steelers defense.

With this win, the Steelers move to 6-2 on the season and now sit atop the AFC.  

Next week's game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field may ultimately determine who wins the AFC North.  Both teams have basically the same schedule remaining and could easily run the table. 

If the Steelers get it done at home next week, they will control their own destiny the rest of the season.  If they lay another egg against the Ravens, it may mean another Wild Card appearance for the Steelers. 

Either way, the Steelers have—at least for this week—established themselves as one of the elite teams in the AFC.