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Drew comes to the Patriots' rescue
By John Clayton
ESPN.com

PITTSBURGH -- Drew Bledsoe leading the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl is old news. Drew Bledsoe leading the 2001 Patriots to the Super Bowl is an oddity that even referee Ed Hochuli can't review on instant replay. It's a done deal -- even if no one can believe it.

In an AFC championship game filled with coaches' challenges and lengthy reviews, Bledsoe, the $103.5 million invisible man, came off the bench in the second quarter to relieve injured starting quarterback Tom Brady and lead the Patriots to a 24-17 upset of the Steelers. Once again, Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a quarterback controversy. Do you start Brady, who has an ankle injury? Or do you go with Bledsoe, who could become this year's Trent Dilfer, a Super Bowl quarterback on the way out the door.

"I don't think any other team can say that they have two Pro Bowl quarterbacks, especially a $100 million backup," Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy said. "We like our chances with whoever we throw out there."

Maybe it's fitting for the AFC winner to enter the Super Bowl on a note of indecision. The Patriots beat the Raiders on an incompletion that looked like a fumble and educated the world about the "tuck" rule. Four times, pass completions were challenged on Sunday and only one catch survived. The constant reviews were a distraction that caused the game to last three hours and 46 minutes.


	Drew Bledsoe played his first game since a Week 2 loss to the Jets.

What came out of the marathon is an AFC champ that will be under review all week in an attempt to determine if Belichick will make the right choice. Bledsoe was victimized by being the rare football player who lost his starting job because of an injury. Tom Brady replaced him after a blood vessel in Bledsoe's chest was slightly cut on a hard sideline hit by Jets linebacker Mo Lewis. Brady took over and won 12 of the next 15 games, including last week's divisional playoff game against the Raiders.

But with 1:40 to play in the first half, Steelers safety Lee Flowers dove toward Brady's legs, causing Brady's right ankle to buckle and his leg to go completely behind his body. He limped noticeably the rest of the afternoon, and his status is uncertain for the Super Bowl. Even worse, Belichick gave the hush order on the injury before Brady, Bledsoe, Troy Brown and others could hoist the AFC championship trophy.

"We'll take a look at Tom's situation and we'll make an evaluation there and we'll talk about that and make a decision later on in the week," Belichick said of Brady's status.

After the game, Brady admitted he had a "little bit of swelling" around his left ankle. A couple of times, he risked hurting the ankle more jumping up and down celebrating Patriots second-half touchdowns. Cinderella had lost his golden slipper, and the high-priced backup had to save the day. The Patriots led 7-3 when Bledsoe, who had been professional and yet bitter about his demotion, was called into emergency duty.

"The hardest thing for me has been not playing," said Bledsoe, who didn't make any turnovers and completed 10 of 21 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. "As a player and with my makeup, I'm not going to ever let all the other stuff affect me. I enjoy playing the game. The hardest part for me was not being able to go on the field and play the game that I love to play."

Bledsoe rifled a 15-yard completion to David Patten after taking his first snap. Then, he relived the play that had cost him his starting job in New England. He broke to the right sidelines on a scramble and cornerback Chad Scott slammed him cleanly after a 4-yard gain.

Bledsoe bounced up and returned to complete his next two passes -- a 10-yarder to Patten and an 11-yard touchdown pass to Patten that opened a 14-3 lead.

"It's football," Bledsoe said. "Sometimes in order for it to feel like football, sometimes you've got to get hit. That happens. Sometimes, it helps."

Bledsoe clearly was into the game even though he had only been working with the scout team the past couple of months. Was he better than Brady? Not really. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis didn't change his play-calling, but Bledsoe's powerful arm did seem to open up the coverages a little.

"The plays they called when Drew was in there were the same calls that they called when Tom was in there," Brown said. "Both should be reading the same things."

And they did. For Bledsoe, it was redemption. After all, he was the quarterback who took the Patriots to the Super Bowl five years ago in New Orleans for Bill Parcells and lost. This will be the Patriots' third Super Bowl trip to New Orleans since 1986. They lost their first two title games by the combined score of 81-31 and will probably be double-digit underdogs to the Rams.

Belichick mentioned to the Patriots that they were 11-point underdogs to the Steelers, the same margin a 1-12 Lions team was when they came into Heinz Field during December. The Patriots played like an angry team, a team that got little respect.

	“	He made big throws and we hit a couple there in the fourth quarter to keep the drives moving. Drew has been working every week, and you need a couple of quarterbacks in this league. We are fortunate that we have three guys. ”
		— Bill Belichick, Patriots quarterback

"Being in New England, we have not had respect since I've been here," Milloy said. "That's the bottom line. I think that the only way we are going to get our respect is not just making it to the Super Bowl. We have to win it. I hate to look at the odds next week."

Or Sunday, even, when the Las Vegas betting line opened at 15½ points before settling at 14.

Whether or not that's fair treatment will be speculated on this week. As will Bledsoe's plight. Asked if he felt he was treated fairly by the coach this season, Bledsoe said, "Let's focus on now."

And that's precisely what Bledsoe did. He prevented the Patriots from panicking when the Steelers made a second-half run to trim a 21-3 gap to 21-17. In the fourth quarter, he smoothly executed an 11-play, 45-yard drive to set up a 44-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri that made it a 24-17 lead.

"To have that situation play out the way it did, it's an emotional high," Bledsoe said.

Belichick won't rush a decision on whether to start a limping Brady or Bledsoe. He did praise his multi-million dollar quarterback, though.

"He made big throws and we hit a couple there in the fourth quarter to keep the drives moving," Belichick said. "Drew has been working every week, and you need a couple of quarterbacks in this league. We are fortunate that we have three guys."

And now, we await the decision. Both Brady and Bledsoe have made their cases.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.


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