Boston Sports

FOXBORO (AP) ― New England won two Super Bowls this decade after beating Pittsburgh in AFC championship games.

A critical loss to the Steelers and their NFL-leading defense on a rainy Sunday may help keep the Patriots from simply making the playoffs this season.

A defense that had five turnovers and five sacks and held New England to no points and 81 yards in the second half spearheaded a 33-10 win that kept the Steelers (9-3) a game ahead of the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.

It also left the Patriots (7-5) a game behind in the AFC East and the wild-card chase.

"This is still a tight race," quarterback Matt Cassel said. "We are going down to the wire here."

New England has a soft remaining schedule against Seattle, Oakland, Arizona and Buffalo.

Pittsburgh (9-3) faces a much tougher challenge with games against Dallas, Baltimore, Tennessee and Cleveland. But if the defense plays the way it has all season -- no team has gained more than 290 yards against Pittsburgh -- the Steelers should be in good shape.

"We're not worried about Baltimore" in the division race, wide receiver Hines Ward said. "We worry about us. Everyone else has to catch up to us."

The Patriots were in the game at halftime, tied 10-10 despite a Randy Moss' drop of a pass in the end zone in the final minute. Then the Steelers had four sacks and five takeaways in the second half when Jeff Reed kicked three of his four field goals.

"We're driving the ball and it was second-and-1, sack, third-and-long, punt. That stuff kills you," Patriots guard Logan Mankins said. "Right after that we have the fumbled kickoff return, two strip sacks and an interception. You can't beat Pop Warner teams doing that."

The Steelers managed just a field goal with an interception and a punt on their first five possessions. Then Ben Roethlisberger threw a 19-yard touchdown pass with 1:55 left in the first half. He threw another one, an 11-yarder to Ward, that made it 20-10 after Matthew Slater fumbled away a kickoff.

The Pittsburgh defense "was unbelievable," said Roethlisberger, who went 17-for-33 for 179 yards and an interception by Mike Vrabel on the fourth offensive play of the game. "You just get to the sideline, put your coat on, your hat on, and, all of a sudden, you're ready to go back on the field."

Troy Polamalu and Lawrence Timmons had interceptions for the Steelers, the last returned 89 yards to set up Gary Russell's 1-yard run for the final touchdown.

"They had to start passing the ball and we didn't have to sit back and try and guess what they were doing," said James Harrison, who sacked Cassel twice, forcing fumbles both times. "We just pinned our ears back and went at them."

Cassel had thrown for 400 and 415 yards in the last two games but was held to 169 on 19 completions in 39 attempts. He was hurt by several dropped balls, two by Moss.

And his game-by-game progress as the replacement for injured Tom Brady was stalled.

"This isn't about one guy's performance or Matt Cassel and his stock rising or dropping," Cassel said. "I could care less about that. I care about winning ballgames."

With more than five minutes left, most of the drenched fans had headed to the warmth of their cars. Some who remained waved yellow-and-black Terrible Towels, a symbol of the Steelers.

The Patriots had beaten them 34-13 last December, their sixth win over Pittsburgh in seven games.

"We heard a lot of talk about it being a rivalry," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. "It hasn't been much of a rivalry until you win some. That's what we talked about coming up here."
 
Receivers seemed to have trouble holding onto the ball in the wet conditions.

"The rain didn't stop and it was hard to see," Roethlisberger said.
But the Patriots didn't use that as an excuse.

"The weather didn't matter," New England's Kevin Faulk said. "The turnovers were frustrating. You can't do that and win in this league."

Notes: Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker didn't return after taking a hard hit from safety Ryan Clark late in the third quarter. There was no update on his condition. ... Harrison, with 14 sacks, and LaMarr Woodley, who raised his total to 11 1/2 with one sack, set a Steelers club record for most combined sacks by two players. ... Faulk's 41-yard run was the third longest of his 10-year career. ... Both teams had 19 first downs, but the Steelers had an edge of 10 minutes, 10 seconds in time of possession.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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