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Two huge special teams plays pivotal
Associated Press

PITTSBURGH -- Troy Brown against the Pittsburgh Steelers' special teams was a mismatch.

Brown outraced defenders nipping at his heels to score on a 55-yard punt return. Later, he scooped up a blocked field goal and lateraled to Antwan Harris, who charged 49 more yards for another touchdown.

"Any time you get two special team touchdowns, you should go out and win the game," Brown said.

The Patriots did, surprising the Steelers 24-17 Sunday and making it to their second Super Bowl in six seasons.

And they did it with a short receiver from Marshall who has emerged in his ninth season as one of the NFL's best all-around threats. He set a team record with 101 receptions and led the AFC in punt returns in the regular season.

And he had eight receptions Sunday, six in the first half before the Steelers gave him extra coverage

"Oh, man. That guy is some football player," New England coach Bill Belichick said. "He does the big things, but he does all the little things. You just love to have guys like that on your team."

Brown returned two punts for touchdowns in the Patriots' last four regular-season games, all wins. On Sunday, he faced a team that allowed Jermaine Lewis to score on an 88-yard punt return in a 27-10 win over Baltimore the previous Sunday.

The Steelers were ranked 24th out of 31 teams in defending punt returns and weren't particularly good in their own kicking game.

Kris Brown had missed 14 of 44 field-goal attempts and three of 37 extra-point tries. Against Baltimore, he missed a 35-yarder. But he didn't have any field-goal attempts blocked this season.

Until Sunday.

Belichick said he didn't know if the Steelers were vulnerable on special teams.

"But we always want to pressure the other team's specialists," he said.

It was clear early in the game that special teams would play a big role. Ten of the first 11 series ended in punts. Brown's return came on the sixth punt of the first quarter.

Josh Miller kicked the ball well, but had to punt again when teammate Troy Edwards went out of bounds without being pushed, then went back in, prompting a flag. Miller's second try was far less successful.

"We were trying to make a left return out of it," Brown said, "but the Steelers were overplaying it, so I just saw a lane up the middle."

He barely escaped several Steelers coming from behind and had a big escort to the end zone as several teammates led him downfield for the game's first touchdown with 3:32 left in the quarter.

The Patriots led 14-3 at halftime, but the Steelers threatened to close that margin to eight points as Kris Brown lined up for a 34-yard field goal. Defensive tackle Brandon Mitchell blocked the ball, Troy Brown scooped it up at the Patriots 40, then gave it to Harris.

"I can't tell you how many times that play has happened in practice," Belichick said. "To see it work the way it did out on the field today, that's where all of that hard work pays off."

The play was designed for linebacker Tedy Bruschi to push Mitchell from behind. They nearly made it work on Brown's 30-yard field goal early in the second quarter. Then they got another chance.

"He said, `Tedy, I can get it. I'll get a better angle, just give me a push,' " Bruschi recalled. "I pushed and pushed until I couldn't push anymore."

That's when Kris Brown realized what happened.

"The most dreaded sound a kicker hears is 'Thud, thud.' I tried to tackle the guy, but he lateraled it and they scored a touchdown. Nothing more need to be said."

Mitchell broke through enough to slap down the kick, and it trickled to the right side of the field. That's where Brown made a clean scoop.

Then he fed the ball to Harris, a backup defensive back in his second season.

"First, I was running to try to get the ball, then I saw Troy there so I called to him," Harris said. "The end zone, that's all I saw. I didn't look for anybody, just the end zone."

Mitchell, the defensive tackle who started the play, had an excellent view.

"I'm running behind, jumping and laughing and screaming, just happy," Mitchell said. "It was a wonderful feeling, a beautiful thing."

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