The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday and head to… The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to beat the New England Patriots on Sunday and head to Jacksonville for the Super Bowl, because this team, a team that has won 16 games and become the first team in the AFC to win 15 regular season games, does not know how to lose.

There have been a handful of games this year that the Steelers had no business really winning, but great teams overcome adversity and find ways to come out on top. The Steelers are one of those teams. In week two, the Steelers lost Tommy Maddox, their starting quarterback, and were forced to play a rookie, but that didn’t slow them down.

After week eight, they lost their starting running back, but great teams have great depth and the Steelers backup just happened to be one of the National Football League’s greatest running backs of all time.

Casey Hampton, Chad Scott and Kendrell Bell — all starters — have been out while the Steelers have made their magical run. This is a team of destiny; just ask Doug Brien and the New York Jets, who were in clear position to end the Steelers’ run.

Championships are won in the trenches, and the Steelers are the most physical team in the NFL.

In week eight, when the Steelers dominated the Pats up and down the field and held the ball for over 40 minutes, the Steelers ran the ball on 29 of their final 32 plays, and, despite knowing what was coming, the Pats couldn’t stop it.

There is no reason to think the Steelers’ offensive line, with pro-bowlers Alan Faneca and Jeff Hartings, won’t be able to play the same kind of smash-mouth football against the Pats’ defense that could be without Richard Seymour.

If the Steelers run for over 150 yards as a team and get Duce Staley, Jerome Bettis and Verron Haynes involved, that will mean the Steelers are controlling the game and, most likely, the scoreboard.

Ben Roethlisberger has come under fire a lot this week for playing like a “rookie” against the Jets, and despite the fact that he made bad throws, it wasn’t entirely his fault.

He threw the ball more in the Jets game than he normally does, and a good Jets defense made some good reads. Glove or no glove, Roethlisberger made some good throws and some bad ones, but on Sunday against the Pats, look for Roethlisberger to have his playoff feet under him and for his decision making to be better.

Finally, Steelers’ head coach Bill Cowher has said all week that in order to the beat the Patriots, the Steelers can’t deviate from what got them there. Cowher had better listen to himself and realize that running the ball is how they got here and why they will be in Jacksonville.

Matt Sortino is a staff writer for The Pitt News, and he urges you to e-mail Keith Wehmeyer at [email protected], but only after the Steelers win.