08:37 AM EST on Monday, January 24, 2005

PITTSBURGH -- It's not merely that the Patriots are so good that's so impressive.

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

New England's linebacker Tedy Bruschi displays the AFC Championship trophy after the Patriots' 41-27 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh last night.

It's that they're so much better than the best teams in the NFL's best conference.

A week after throttling record-setting quarterback Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 20-3, in Foxboro, the Pats came to frigid Pittsburgh last night and put the Big Chill on Big Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers, 41-27.

That decisive victory marked the second straight AFC championship for the defending NFL champions -- their third in the last four years -- and set up a Super Bowl date Feb. 6 in Jacksonville against the Philadelphia Eagles, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 27-10, yesterday afternoon to win the NFC championship.

Only one team ever has won three Super Bowls in a span of four years: the Dallas Cowboys of 1992, '93, and '95. The Patriots, who upset the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI after the 2001 season and beat the Carolina Panthers last year in Super Bowl XXXVIII, now have a chance to equal that mark.

It appears the Pats have no equal this season. At least not in the AFC, which all year has been considered a much stronger conference than the NFC.

Consider what they have done in the playoffs against two powerful teams.

The Colts led the league in scoring, averaging more than 32 points a game as Manning broke the NFL mark for touchdown passes in a season with 49.

Yet the Patriots held Indianapolis to a field goal.

The Steelers led the league in scoring defense, yielding an average of just 15 points a game.

The Patriots put up 41 against them.

Are they, then, in a class by themselves?

As former Houston Oilers coach "Bum" Phillips used to say: "I don't know 'bout that, but it sure don't take long to call the roll."

The Patriots are a team on a roll, having won 33 of 37 games over the past two seasons. They also are a classy team, one that doesn't stoop to trash-talking. They respect their opponents, then beat their brains in.

"We have a lot of good players on this team," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said last night. "They stepped up and played their best in the most important game. It's a real credit to their ability to play well under pressure."

The Patriots are a team, not of three musketeers, but 53, who truly believe in the motto of "One for all, all for one."

One player who stands out is their handsome, charismatic, tremendously talented, and unshakably cool quarterback, Tom Brady, twice the Most Valuable Player in the Super Bowl, and now a perfect 8-0 in postseason play.

Last night, he got much the best of the Steelers' star rookie, Ben Roethlisberger, who was undefeated in 13 starts during the regular season and added another last weekend over the Jets in the conference semifinals.

Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, one of which was returned 87 yards for a touchdown by strong safety Rodney Harrison, giving New England a commanding 24-3 lead with just over two minutes left in the first half.

Brady threw for two touchdowns, completing 14 of 21 passes for 207 yards, without an interception.

"What can you say about him?" Pats linebacker Ted Johnson said. "He's amazing. He's a winner. He has such poise and calmness, he almost makes it look effortless. It's fun to watch."

It was a dramatic turnaround from the last time Brady and the Pats were in Pittsburgh. That was the afternoon of Halloween, when the Steelers beat the Pats, 34-20, to put an end to New England's NFL-record 21-game winning streak.

"We've always said you're defined in this league by championships, and not how many regular-season games you can win in a row," Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel said. "People always remember the champion, and that's our goal."

The defending NFL-champion Patriots already have put together a run of success that never will be forgotten in New England. With a win over the Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX, they would establish themselves as one of the most memorable teams in NFL history -- one ranking right up there with the legendary Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers of the 1960s, the Steelers of the '70s, the San Francisco 49ers teams of the '80s, featuring Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, and the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s.

Speaking of Lombardi, Belichick deserves to be mentioned in the same breath with him. Last night's win tied Belichik with Lombardi for the all-time-best, post-season winning percentage -- .900, with 9 wins in 10 games.

"It's very flattering," Belichick said, "to have my name mentioned with his name. I don't really think I'm deserving of that. I think it's really stretching it a little bit.

"I've been fortunate to have some outstanding players, guys who really play well together as a team. We demand a lot of them. They lay it on the line. I've never been around a harder-working group of guys. There's a lot of blood and sweat put out there, and I'm happy they have this kind of achievement to show for it."

Long-recognized as a defensive genius, Belichick has established himself as one of the brilliant minds in the history of the game.

He has never lost a postseason game in New England and, considering what his Patriots did to the highly regarded Steelers, who were 16-1 heading into last night, and the Colts, you've got to figure that, given two weeks to prepare for the Eagles, Belichick and his exceptional staff of assistants will come up with a plan that will enable the Patriots to keep on winning.

Last night's game was a test not merely of skills, but of wills. It was bitterly cold. The hits were hard, the ground harder. The Patriots proved not only their talent, but also their toughness.

"These were the two best teams in the AFC, playing for a chance to go to the Super Bowl," Vrabel said.

And the best team won.

The best team, certainly, in the AFC. And, if they can beat the Eagles, one of the best teams in NFL history.