Steelers vs. Patriots 2017 live updates: Scores, highlights, and news from AFC Championship

New England is back in the Super Bowl.

by Christian D'Andrea

Updated Jan 23, 2017, 2:45 AM UTC

NFL: AFC Championship-Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots

Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

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Final score: Patriots 36, Steelers 17

For the seventh time in the Brady-Belichick era, the Patriots are in the Super Bowl. They’ll face the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Feb. 5 in Houston, Texas. Hopefully it’s not a blowout like most of the playoff games were this year.

Fourth quarter (3:36): Patriots 36, Steelers 17

Well, Cobi Hamilton finally got his touchdown on a back-corner throw from Ben Roethlisberger. Unfortunately for the Steelers, it’s too little too late.

Fourth quarter (6:24): Patriots 36, Steelers 9

The Steelers messed up (Ben Roethlisberger threw a pick), and the Patriots capitalized (26-yard field goal). Lather, rinse, repeat.

But we got to see Tom Brady set a Patriots record:

And blow a snot rocket in his delightfully giant coat.

And Patriots fans were chanting “Where is Roger?”

So the game hasn’t been a total dud. Just mostly.

Fourth quarter (13:06): Patriots 33, Steelers 9

The Steelers were showing life on their next drive, but then continue to be cursed once they sniff the goal line. Ben Roethlisberger found Cobi Hamilton in the end zone, and he caught it, but then he was flagged for illegal touching. Hamilton went out of bounds and came back in and was the first player to touch the ball.

So the Steelers went for it on fourth down, and shocker, they didn’t get it.

Third quarter (0:00): Patriots 33, Steelers 9

Eli Rogers fumbled on the Steelers’ next possession and New England recovered. That eventually led to a 10-yard touchdown from Tom Brady to Julian Edelman.

Stephen Gostkowski missed the PAT, so the Patriots are human, we guess.

Third quarter (2:44): Patriots 27, Steelers 9

The Patriots started from their own 12-yard line, but that didn’t make much of a difference. Chris Hogan continued to catch everything thrown his way, and LeGarrette Blount carried the entire Pittsburgh defense to the 1-yard line:

On the next play, Blount ran it up the middle for the touchdown.

Third quarter (9:59): Patriots 20, Steelers 9

The Steelers started the second half with the ball, but couldn’t get much going. The Patriots got the ball back and Tom Brady fumbled, but there was no clear recovery so New England kept possession and added a 47-yard field goal.

Halftime: Patriots 17, Steelers 9

Le’Veon returned to the game ... for one play, and then went back to the bench after. Ben Roethlisberger led his team down the field, distributing the ball to four different receivers. It should have been five, but Cobi Hamilton dropped a would-be touchdown.

Roethlisberger hooked up with Jesse James a couple plays later. At first it was ruled a touchdown, but replay showed he was just short.

Still, the Steelers got the ball at the 1-yard line on first-and-goal.

Then DeAngelo Williams lost yards on two straight plays, and Roethlisberger misfired on a pass to Eli Rogers. The Steelers opted to take the field goal with 1:39 remaining in the first half.

Second quarter (7:43): Patriots 17, Steelers 6

So, the Steelers still haven’t figured out how to cover Chris Hogan. This time, it was a 34-yard flea flicker. Wowza:

Hogan has seven catches for 117 yards. It’s halfway through the second quarter.

Second quarter (11:31): Patriots 10, Steelers 6

Even without Le’Veon Bell, the Steelers put together an impressive drive. Ben Roethlisberger shook off his slow start to complete seven straight passes. DeAngelo Williams ran the ball four times for 25 yards and rumbled in for a 5-yard touchdown.

Chris Boswell, a week after setting an NFL record with six field goals in a playoff game, missed the extra point.

First quarter (0:00): Patriots 10, Steelers 0

The Steelers finally started moving the ball, but Le’Veon Bell was on the sideline talking to the team doctor and is now questionable to return with a groin injury. And there’s also this:

First quarter (2:47): Patriots 10, Steelers 0

After three punts, we got to see a little offense again. Tom Brady locked in on Chris Hogan, who caught four passes for 57 yards on the drive, including a wide-open 16-yard touchdown.

First quarter (13:12): Patriots 3, Steelers 0

Tom Brady came out slinging the ball, finding four different receivers for four completions. The Patriots got the ball inside the red zone, but on fourth down, decided to settle for a field goal. Stephen Gostkowski knocked a 31-yarder through for the first points of the game.

Before the game

The Patriots and the Steelers have represented the AFC in nine of the last 15 Super Bowls. Despite their familiarity with the big game, Sunday marks the first time they’ve met for the conference title since 2005.

New England won that matchup, 41-27, on the way to Tom Brady’s third NFL title in four years. The victory was endemic of the team’s recent string of success against its cross-division rivals. Since Brady ascended to the team’s starting quarterback role, his Pats are 9-2 against the Steelers.

That includes a 27-16 win earlier this season, but Pittsburgh will be a much stronger team than it was back in October. Those Steelers had to rely on backup quarterback Landry Jones after Ben Roethlisberger was out with an injury. Jones threw for 281 yards, but he needed 47 passes to get there as his team was forced to play from behind all game.

Roethlisberger’s absence mired Pittsburgh in a 4-5 record. His return helped spark a nine-game winning streak that has the franchise on the precipice of its ninth Super Bowl appearance.

While the Steelers will add a big name who missed the first meeting, the Patriots will be missing one of their stars. All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski was shut down for the season after undergoing back surgery in November. His absence will be missed — he had 93 receiving yards and a touchdown in that Week 7 victory in Pittsburgh.

Instead, the team will have to rely on dynamic tailback Dion Lewis to create its offensive mismatches. Lewis was superb in the team’s Divisional round victory over the Texans, becoming the first player to score kick return, rushing, and receiving touchdowns in a playoff game. New England will need him to be on top of his game if Brady struggles. The two-time NFL MVP completed fewer than 50 percent of his passes and threw a pair of interceptions as Houston’s pass rush gave him problems throughout the evening.