This year’s AFC Championship is a heavyweight matchup of star power, with Tom Brady leading the New England Patriots and Ben Roethlisberger driving the Pittsburgh Steelers. These teams will clash at Gillette Stadium, with the winner going to Super Bowl 51 and playing either the Atlanta Falcons or Green Bay Packers.
Steelers vs. Patriots live stream: How to watch AFC Championship online
It’s Tom Brady vs. Ben Roethlisberger for the AFC title on Sunday.
The game will be aired on CBS, with limited legal options for watching online. CBS only allows live streaming of its network in select markets, but viewers can catch the game with a subscription to CBS All-Access, which offers a one-week free trial.
The Patriots once again set a new standard for success in the Bill Belichick/Brady era, reaching the conference championship game for the sixth straight year. The Houston Texans hung tough with the Patriots in the Divisional round, but their offensive woes were too much to overcome and New England pulled away with the 34-16 victory.
Brady didn’t have his best game, completing just 18-of-38 passes and throwing two interceptions while dealing with a ferocious Texans pass rush. Still, he did enough to ensure the win and got a monster game out of Dion Lewis, who scored three touchdowns in three different ways (rushing, receiving, kick return). Julian Edelman racked up eight catches for 137 yards, while the defense picked off Brock Osweiler three times.
The Steelers head into this game hoping to convert more red-zone chances than they did last week. Despite dominating the Kansas City Chiefs for most of the Divisional round, Pittsburgh failed to score a touchdown, settling for six field goals from Chris Boswell.
However, that was just barely enough to win, 18-16, thanks to a strong performance by the defense. The Chiefs came close to tying it up in the final minutes, but a holding call on Eric Fisher negated a two-point conversion try. Pittsburgh recovered the ensuing onside kick and successfully killed the clock.
Roethlisberger, like Brady, wasn’t totally sharp in that game. He threw an interception and was off on several of his throws. (Antonio Brown only managed to catch six of 11 targets.) Fortunately for Roethlisberger, he has Le’Veon Bell to lean on. Bell was a true workhorse, taking 30 carries for 170 yards. He was surgical once again, using his trademark patience and vision to methodically slice apart the Chiefs defense. Pittsburgh dominated the time-of-possession battle and punted just once the whole game.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Steelers-Patriots game without a bit of off-field controversy. Brown got himself in some hot water for posting a Facebook Live video in the locker room following last week’s win, which featured head coach Mike Tomlin saying some not-so-flattering things about the Patriots. Tomlin apologized for his language, but he didn’t mince words about Brown violating both league and team policy. “It was foolish of him to do that. It was selfish of him to do that, and it was inconsiderate of him to do that,” said Tomlin. Brown, who also apologized, will almost certainly face discipline for the incident.
Nothing like a little bulletin board material to give this game extra heat. But even without Brown’s antics, this was destined to be a grudge match between two of the AFC’s biggest powerhouses. The Steelers haven’t been to the Super Bowl since the 2010 season, when they lost to the Packers. Roethlisberger is looking for his third Super Bowl ring, while Brady is hunting for a fifth. Don’t expect either team to let up with a ticket to Houston on the line.
How to watch
Time: 6:40 p.m. ET
Place: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: CBS
Announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms, Tracy Wolfson, Jay Feely
Online: CBS All-Access
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