Tom Brady’s Most Memorable Games Against the Steelers
There are few teams that haven’t been affected by Tom Brady, aside from maybe the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins, and Denver Broncos. His reign over the NFL the past two decades has caused the downfall of many teams and broken the hearts of many fan bases.
However, there is arguably no team that has quite felt the strain of Brady like the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has dominated Pittsburgh over the course of his career, boasting a 9-3 regular season record and three postseason victories, all en route to Super Bowl wins. As we gear up for his 16th matchup against the Steelers, here are some of his most memorable matchups against the team.
Steelers fans, you may want to look away.
1. FINAL SCORE: 34-13 (12/09/2007)
32/46, 399 yards
4 touchdowns
125.2 rating
Before this game, Steelers safety Anthony Smith guaranteed the Steelers would hand the 2007 Patriots their first loss of the season.
Brady took those words to heart, immediately targeting Smith on a 63-yard touchdown to Randy Moss. He proceeded to throw in Smith’s direction the entire game, torching the Steelers to advance to 13-0 on the season. The Patriots didn’t even bother toting the rock, rushing the ball only nine times for 22 yards. Smith joined a long line of athletes that have regretted trash-talking Brady.
2.
FINAL SCORE: 33-3 (09/08/2019)
24/36, 341 yards
3 touchdowns
124.9 rating
Fresh off a Super Bowl victory, the Patriots were looking to flex their championships against the Steelers. Pittsburgh was the first team to obtain six Super Bowls, holding that record until the Patriots became the second team seven months earlier. New England decided to rub this in with a pre-game celebration, proceeded by a dominant performance for the next 60 minutes. This game was a perfect illustration of where the two franchises stood at the time: the Patriots were hungry and fierce while the Steelers were stagnant and lost in identity.
3.
FINAL SCORE: 27-24 (12/17/2017)
22/35, 298 yards
1 touchdown
1 interception
87.6 rating
This was actually one of Brady’s worst statistical performances against Pittsburgh. However, this game was infamous for the Jesse James catch that was initially ruled a touchdown, but later overturned. This touchdown being reversed led to a Steelers loss after Ben Roethlisberger threw a game-losing interception. The call made sent many fans into a frenzy, even those who were not routing for the Steelers. The catch was such a crucial moment in the game, and ultimately the season.
Had the Steelers won this game, they were almost guaranteed acquire the number one seed in the AFC. With Pittsburgh getting eliminated by Jaguars in the Divisional Round, many could only speculate how far they would have gone if they got the top seed.
