ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 6, 1997 TAG: 9701060131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FOXBORO, MASS.
SOURCE: Associated Press
CURTIS MARTIN leads New England past Pittsburgh and into the AFC championship game.
The fog didn't bother Curtis Martin. Neither did the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were lost in it all day.
With Martin knifing through a thick mist behind an offensive line aroused by pregame talk of the Pittsburgh blitz, the New England Patriots rolled into the AFC championship game with a 28-3 win Sunday.
The Pittsburgh native slashed for a team playoff record 166 yards and three touchdowns, including a 78-yarder that gave more than 60,000 fans waving blue pom-poms a chance to see him at his best.
``It just made it extra interesting to me to go out there and see all that fog,'' he said. ``I wondered whether they'll be able to see me when I'm running.''
The Patriots, hosting their first playoff game in 18 years, will welcome Jacksonville to Foxboro Stadium next Sunday with a Super Bowl berth going to the winner. New England (12-5) beat the Jaguars here 28-25 in overtime in the fourth game of the year.
The Steelers (11-7) ended their season sooner than the last two. They lost in the AFC title game to San Diego two years ago, then were beaten in last season's Super Bowl by Dallas.
``Losses are always tough,'' Steelers cornerback Rod Woodson said. ``It's tough when you lose like this. The last thing you want is to get blown out in a playoff game.''
The Steelers were coming off a rout of their own, a 42-14 wild-card win over Indianapolis. Jerome Bettis ran for 102 yards, and Pittsburgh's blitz produced four sacks in that game.
Pittsburgh's defense was ranked second in the NFL, but was outplayed by a New England defense that now has allowed just four touchdowns in its last six games. One week after scoring a club playoff record 42 points, the Steelers' only points came after an interception, and they were outgained 346 yards to 213.
``We'd heard a lot about their defense and, quite frankly, our players were a little tired of hearing that,'' Patriots coach Bill Parcells said.
A heavy mist shrouded the field all game, and there was no sighting of the same Bettis who battered Indianapolis.
That performance earned him plenty of publicity, but the Patriots and a groin injury held him to just 43 yards rushing in 13 carries.
Martin will get all the publicity after his performance Sunday.
He scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, a 78-yarder in the second and a 23-yarder in the fourth. Martin matched his career high in rushing yards.
Pittsburgh quarterback Mike Tomczak has had trouble throwing most of the season, and the fog made it tough to see receivers.
Not even the versatile Kordell Stewart could help when he replaced Tomczak periodically. He lost two yards on his first play and later suffered a sack and a pressure that put him on his back. All 10 of his passes were incomplete.
Here's how dominating the Patriots, the AFC's highest scoring team, were as they built a 21-0 halftime lead en route to the second AFC title game in their history and first in 11 years:
* They scored two touchdowns on their first six plays, with gains of 34, 53 and 78 yards.
* They declined three Pittsburgh penalties because they gained more yardage on the plays they ran.
* Martin had 109 rushing yards by halftime, seven more than Bettis gained in Pittsburgh's victory over Indianapolis. By halftime, Martin had already surpassed Craig James' team playoff record of 105 yards set in their only AFC championship game appearance, at Miami in January 1986.
*Quarterback Drew Bledsoe completed his first seven passes for 123 yards.
``They had three big plays for 150 yards in the first half. You couldn't overcome it,'' Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher said.
With the Patriots controlling Bettis, the Steelers' run-oriented attack stalled and they punted on seven of their eight first-half possessions. They turned the ball over on downs on the eighth.
The Steelers avoided their first playoff shutout since 1947 when Norm Johnson kicked a 29-yard field goal with 3:50 left in the third quarter.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP 1. New England fan cheers while peering through theby CNBfog to see action between the Patriots and the Steelers. color. 2.
Curtis Martin (left) is congratulated by teammate Ben Coates after
scoring his third touchdown of the afternoon. KEYWORDS: FOOTBALL