Steelers Come Back to Beat Patriots

New England jumped to an early 10-0 lead, but the Steelers used several Patriot mistakes to come back to defeat the Patriots 28-25 in a tight fought game.
After the Steelers went 3 and out on their first possession, Dave Meggett returned the punt to the Steelers 26 yard line. 2 plays later, Drew Bledsoe found Ben Coates open over the middle and he rumbled in from 19 yards out to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead less than 2 minutes into the game.
After another 3 and out, the Patriots started at their own 17, but drove 50 yards before settling for a 50 yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri and a 10-0 lead with 5:54 left in the first quarter.
Following a Will Blackwell kickoff return out to the 49, Kordell Stewart threw a play action bomb to Yancey Thigpen for 51 yards on first down to cut the New England lead to 10-7. New England then drove 53 yards before settling for another Vinatieri field goal and the Patriots lead 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.
After another 3 and out by the Steelers, the Patriots took over at their own 29 to start the second quarter. After 8 yards and facing 4th and 2, they decided to go for it from their own 37. Drew Bledsoe's 4th down pass for David Meggett was incomplete and the Steelers took over in great field position.
The Steelers drove down to the Patriots 7, but couldn't get any closer and Norm Johnson's short field goal cut the New England lead to 13-10. After another long kick return from Troy Brown, the Patriots started out at midfield. Three plays later, Bledsoe hit a long strike to Shawn Jefferson to expand the Patriots lead to 19-10. New England decided to go for 2 points, and Bledsoe's pass to Coates was complete for the conversion. However, the Pats were called for holding and backed up to the 12 yard line. Vinatieri hit the extra point, but the Patriots were flagged for holding again, and his 39 yard extra point went wide and New England's lead was still 19-10.
Donnell Woolford intercepted a Drew Bledsoe pass at the Pittsburgh 40 and returned it to the New England 41 with just over 3 minutes left in the first half. The Steelers drove down to the New England 10 before having to settle for another Johnson field goal and the Patriots lead 19-13 at half time.
Vinatieri's third field goal, this time from 46, gave the Patriots a 22-13 lead with 9:21 left in the third quarter. The Steelers then drove to the Patriots 46 before having the drive stall. David Meggett fumbled the punt threw his hands while trying to fair catch and Darren Perry scooped the ball up and raced 8 yards into the end zone to cut the Patriots lead to 22-20.
Meggett returned the ensuing kickoff back into Steeler territory and the Patriots reached the Steelers 2 before penalties back them up. Vinatieri's fourth field goal gave the Pats a 25-20 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Steelers then marched 75 yards to grab their first lead on Stewart's second touchdown pass to Yancey Thigpen, this time from 11 yards out. The Steelers after taking a 26-25 lead decided to try for two. Following a false start penalty, Kordell Stewart scrambled around and found the goal line from the 7 to give Pittsburgh a 28-25 lead which proved to be the final margin with 7:25 left in the game.
Following a Steeler punt which pinned them back at their own 11, the Patriots had one final chance in the final 2 minutes. But, Levon Kirkland stripped Bledsoe on a sack and Jason Gildon fell on the ball at the New England 19 yard line. Kordell Stewart took a couple of knees and the Steelers ran out the clock.
Jerome Bettis rushed for 110 yards and Yancey Thigpen caught 7 balls for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns. --submitted by John Lowe--