Patriots Set Their Sights on Title

FOXBORO, Mass. — On his first play from scrimmage Sunday, New England quarterback Drew Bledsoe faded back and spotted receiver Terry Glenn streaking down the right sideline through the thick fog at Foxboro Stadium, a step ahead of Pittsburgh cornerback Rod Woodson.

Bledsoe threw a perfect spiral that dropped out of the damp sky into the arms of Glenn for a 53-yard completion.

It was only one play. It took only a few seconds, but the Steelers never seemed to recover. For the rest of the afternoon at Foxboro, the Patriots played in the fog while Pittsburgh played in a fog and New England won with surprising ease, 28-3, in front of 60,188 to set up Sunday’s AFC title game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Foxboro.

The best individual performance was turned in by Patriot running back Curtis Martin, who rushed for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

But all that was set up on the first play.

While all the cameras before the game focused on Steeler running back Jerome Bettis, who was testing his pulled groin muscle on the wet grass, New England Coach Bill Parcells was focused on the Pittsburgh defense. Parcells knew it was the best in the AFC and the second best in the league during the regular season. He knew about the extensive zone blitzing system that had destroyed so many Pittsburgh opponents. He knew he was going to have to take pressure off Bledsoe or risk having him wind up like Indianapolis quarterback Jim Harbaugh did a week ago, when the Steelers, in winning a first-round playoff game, 42-14, left him bloody and ineffective.

So Parcells called for a bold strike.

“You’ve got to try to attack,” he said.

And attack he did, against Woodson, the cornerback named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team, even though he is still active.

“That one play opened it up a whole bunch for us,” Bledsoe said. “After that, they had to back off the rest of the game.”

Especially when the Patriots surged into a quick lead. The catch by Glenn had put the ball on the Steeler two-yard line. On the next play, Martin went into the end zone off right guard to start his big day.

On his second possession, Bledsoe came right back and, in the face of another blitz, threw to fullback Keith Byars on the right side. Byars cut back inside and raced 34 yards to the end zone.

Just like that, New England was up, 14-0.

“You’ve got to keep them off balance,” Byars said. “They do a great job of keeping you off balance. That’s what happened to Indianapolis. They were caught thinking too much. They forgot to be aggressive.”

Meanwhile, Bettis was struggling. He admitted that the groin injury, which he suffered last week against Indianapolis, was a factor.

“I wasn’t 100%, so it was a rough day out there,” Bettis said. “I stuck in there and gave it everything I had. I didn’t want to lose this game wishing and hoping I had played, but didn’t play. I wanted to go out there and give it everything and I did that.”

Asked if the fog had been a factor, Bettis replied, “Man, I do my work on the ground.”

He certainly didn’t do the kind of work he had done a week ago, when he ran for 102 yards behind an offensive line that was able to dominate the Colts. Bettis finished with 43 yards in 13 carries Sunday.

Nothing seemed to work right for the defending AFC champions. Even their unique two-quarterback system, using throwing specialist Mike Tomczak and rushing specialist Kordell Stewart, wasn’t a factor after the Patriots piled up the big lead. Tomczak connected on only 16 of 29 passes for 110 yards, with two interceptions; and Stewart was 0 for 10 passing. Tomczak outrushed Stewart, 20-19.

On a day when the Patriots out-gained the Steelers, 346-213, in total yardage, even Bledsoe’s numbers weren’t up to his normal standards. He completed 14 of 24 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions.

But as long as he kept handing the ball to Martin, Bledsoe couldn’t go wrong.

In the second quarter, Martin took a handoff at his own 22, headed up the middle, eluded linebacker Levon Kirkland--the only man with a shot at him--and ran 78 yards for six points, the second-longest run in NFL postseason history, exceeded only by an 80-yard run by the San Francisco 49ers’ Roger Craig against the Minnesota Vikings in 1988.

“I think it was the longest run I’ve ever had,” Martin said, “in the pros, college, Pop Warner, everything.”

He added a 23-yard touchdown and said the combination of Bledsoe’s aggressive start, which left the Pittsburgh defense on its heels, and the constant blitzes, which created holes for him to utilize, worked to his advantage.

“I’m not an expert in these things,” he said, “but it seems that when you blitz, you make a lot of plays and miss a lot of plays.”

Was the fog a factor for him?

“It made me wonder,” Martin said, “if they would be able to see me run.”