Brady dominated the Steelers in the playoffs, winning all 3 AFC Championship matchups. Brady has 12 regular season wins against the Steelers and holds records for passing yards against them. Brady is third all-time for passing yards vs. Steelers, and had crucial performances in 2001, 2005, and 2017.
Tom Brady, faced off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in some of the most memorable games of the GOAT’s career.
The New England Patriots squared off against the Steelers 16 times with Brady at the helm, and had great success for the most part.
Here’s a deep dive into Brady’s matchups with Pittsburgh, and why he dominated the Steelers throughout his 23 seasons in the NFL.
How Tom Brady Dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers
Brady was unbeaten in a trio of playoff matchups
Tom Brady beat a lot of NFL teams a lot of times. That’s what happens when you’re the greatest, and you play nearly a quarter-century in the league. But, outside the decades-long torment to which he subjected the Patriots’ AFC East foes, Brady didn’t dominate anyone quite like he dominated the boys in Black and Gold.
This was especially true in the postseason, where Brady crushed Steelers dreams thrice in AFC Championship Games across a span of 15 years. His three playoff wins against the Steelers are tied for the most against any single team without losing one (Jacksonville Jaguars).
Brady vs. Steelers In Playoffs
It all began in 2001. As a first-year starter, Brady was still getting his sea legs under him, but he led New England to the AFC Championship in a matchup versus No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, who were heavily favored. Brady started the game 12-for-18 for 115 passing yards before suffering an injury in the second quarter that kept him out for the remainder of the game.
In the end, this triumph should be credited to his backup, Drew Bledsoe, who subbed in and led the Patriots to the upset win in hostile territory.
Just two years later, Brady and the Patriots once again had to visit the Steel City in the 2004 AFC Championship, though this time, New England came in with two Super Bowl titles in the last three years under their belts.
The Steelers, who went 15-1 in the regular season, were still favored in this matchup, despite New England coming in as the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Brady completed 14 of his 21 pass attempts for 207 yards and two touchdowns, doing just enough to get by Pittsburgh’s tough defense while his own unit flummoxed rookie Ben Roethlisberger, who threw a late pick-six to Rodney Harrison to seal the victory. A week later, they secured their dynasty with a third title in four years.
After that, Brady refrained from breaking Yinzer hearts in the playoffs again until the 2016 season, when they once again met in the AFC Championship game. This time, there were no ifs, ands, or buts about whether it was Brady, his backup, or the defense that should get the credit for the win: Brady put on a masterclass.
While the 2001 and 2004 Steelers boasted No. 1 defenses, the 2016 edition was 16th against the pass, and Brady took full advantage. He completed a sparkling 76.2% of his 42 pass attempts, throwing for 384 yards and three touchdowns, renewing his lordship over the Steelers and reminding Western Pennsylvania of what happens when their Steelers run into the Patriots in January.
Brady’s performance on that day in Foxborough went down as arguably his greatest non-Super Bowl postseason game:
His 384 yards were his 3rd-most in the postseason, and most in non-Super Bowl playoff games His 76.2 completion percentage was the 3rd-best of his Patriots postseason career This was one of just 6 playoff games where Brady threw 3+ TDs without throwing an interception His 127.5 passer rating was better than all but 3 other playoff performances, one of which was the 2004 AFCCG against the Steelers His 9.1 yards per attempt mark was the 6th-best of his Patriots postseason career Only one other time in NFL playoff history has a QB matched Brady’s completion percentage, passer rating, TD-INT ratio, and passing yards mark from this contest (Drew Brees, 2011 playoffs)
As had become tradition, Brady led New England to yet another Super Bowl win after beating Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game, the third time in 15 years that exact scenario played out. In the Big Game, Brady led the greatest comeback win in Super Bowl history after going down 28-3 to the Atlanta Falcons.
Second-Most Wins vs. Steelers
Not only was Brady bullying the Steelers in the playoffs throughout his career, but he did the same in the regular season, as the quarterback is second all-time with 12 total wins against the Steelers.
Brady All-Time Stat Rankings vs. Steelers (Regular Season)
*Stats courtesy of StatMuse
Brady also recorded the third-most passing yards versus Pittsburgh in the team’s history. In 13 regular-season matches versus the Steelers, Brady averaged 306.7 passing yards per game and 2.3 touchdowns. Brady’s career stats against the Steelers also stack up very favorably against his stats against any other single opponent:
His 9 regular season wins against Pittsburgh are his 3rd-most among non-divisional foes (Colts, Falcons) The 68.3 completion percentage he’s maintained against the Steelers is his 6th-best Among non-divisional opponents, Brady’s 30 TD passes against Pittsburgh rank 2nd His 109.2 passer rating when playing the Steelers is his 3rd-best against any single opponent (Falcons, Vikings) Brady averaged 8.15 yards per attempt against the Steelers, his 4th-best mark He averaged 306.7 yards per game in 13 regular season meetings with Pittsburgh, eclipsed only by his 313.4 per game against the Chargers
The Steelers rarely had an answer for Brady, winning just four of 16 total matchups versus the all-time great. Brady had more wins versus Pittsburgh than division rival Joe Flacco, who played in eight more games against the Steelers than Brady.
GIVEMESPORT Key Stat: Only Sonny Jurgensen (13) had more wins against the Steelers in team history than Tom Brady (12).
Brady is the only quarterback in NFL history with an undefeated playoff record against Pittsburgh with a minimum of three games played. In the end, Pittsburgh served as Brady’s gateway to three of his six Super Bowl titles in Foxborough.
Notable Brady vs. Steelers Matchups
2001 AFC Championship Game
Brady recorded his first win against Pittsburgh in the 2001 AFC Championship, a highly-contested 24-17 matchup. The Patriots outlasted the Steelers in large part due to Kordell Stewart’s three interceptions and Drew Bledsoe’s performance coming on in relief for Brady, who suffered an injury in the second quarter that kept him out for ther remainder of the game.
2007 Week 14
Tom Brady was simply untouchable in 2007. When he met the Steelers this time, the Patriots came in with a 12-0 record, and were well on their way to the only 16-0 regular season in NFL history.
Prior to the matchup, Steelers safety Anthony Smith attempted to guarantee a win, which only served to rile up the ultra-competitive Brady, who responded by cutting Smith and the Steelers defense into ribbons to the tune of four TDs and 399 passing yards, the latter of which was his second-most ever against Pittsburgh. Needless to say, the Patriots won this one running away by a score of 34-13.
2017 Week 15
Don Wright/Associated Press
The most notable part of this game wasn’t a spectacular play or a key stop, but rather an overturned call that decided the fate of the game. With 34 seconds left, Ben Roethlisberger completed a 10-yard pass to Jesse James that the tight end took to the end zone as time expired for what seemed like the game-winning TD.
When crossing the plane of the goal line, James mishandled the ball, forcing officials to review the play. After several minutes of confusion among all who viewed the replay, officials ruled the pass incomplete, leading to a Patriots win. Social media exploded at the call, with many believing the ruling of a touchdown should have been upheld.
The following season, the NFL changed the rules defining what exactly a catch is, doing away with the provision relating to movement of the ball in a pass-catcher’s hands when going down to the ground. The rule change would have upheld the James catch had it been introduced at that time, but instead Brady and Co. held on for the 27-24 win.
2019 Week 1
In his final game against the Steelers sporting Patriots threads, Brady went out with a bang. Fresh off his sixth Super Bowl title to close out the 2018 campaign, the two teams met in the 2019 season’s kickoff game. The Patriots defense put the clamps on the Steelers, holding them to just three points, but it was Brady that carried the day.
At age 42, Brady put up one of the best nights of his career, befuddling Pittsburgh’s defense as he tossed the rock for 341 yards and three TDs, while completing two thirds of his passes for a 124.7 passer rating. New England Brady’s long rivalry with Pittsburgh ended the same way it began 18 years earlier: with a Patriots win—though this one was decidedly more lopsided, as it ended 33-3.