The year is 2015. A seasoned Ben Roethlisberger and an aging Bill Cowher stand side by side…. The year is 2015. A seasoned Ben Roethlisberger and an aging Bill Cowher stand side by side. Cowher’s mustache is now as gray as the Pittsburgh sky, most likely due to years of answering questions about why he can’t win in the playoffs. Big Ben has more than paid his dues when it comes to playoff hardships. This time it’s all smiles, because this time, the Steelers won. Cowher and Roethlisberger can finally hoist the Bill Belichick Super Bowl trophy.

Hey, it could happen! Presently, when it comes to playoff victories, Patriots coach Bill Belichick (8-1) is only one win behind the great Vince Lombardi (9-1), the trophy’s current namesake. Belichick’s greatness, however, is only one reason that the Patriots will beat the Steelers Sunday night at Heinz Field. Tom Brady is another.

Undoubtedly, the most important thing to know about Brady is that he wins; he is undefeated (7-0) in his playoff and has been named the MVP of two Super Bowls. In the post-season, he has completed 63 percent of his passes, averaging 215 yards per game with seven touchdown passes and only three interceptions, just one more interception than Roethlisberger threw in the second half alone against the New York Jets in last week’s divisional playoff game.

The clock on Big Ben’s Cinderella story is about to strike midnight. Roethlisberger had an historic regular season, beating up on the AFC North and winning his first playoff game. But had Patriot kicker Adam Vinatieri — or even Steeler castaway Kris Brown — been kicking for the Jets, Pittsburgh’s players would be watching this game on their plasma TVs.

Vinatieri knows a thing or two about kicking under pressure. He has personally ended two Super Bowls with his right foot, not to mention that he completed perhaps one of the most clutch kicks in NFL history when, in a blizzard, he booted a 45-yard field goal in overtime to beat the Raiders in the 2002 AFC Championship game. Simply put, Vinatieri is clutch.

The Black and Gold do have some playoff experience — take Bill Cowher, for example. Cowher has coached the Steelers in 15 playoff games. Too bad eight of them have been losses. Cowher seems unable to win the big game. His playoff woes began way back in 1993 when, like this year, the Steelers were the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Steelers hosted the Buffalo Bills and lost in an embarrassing fashion, 24-3. The Bills went on to win the AFC but lose the Super Bowl (insert echo here).

The Steelers were also the No. 1 seed in 2001 when the Patriots, 10-point underdogs, used Heinz Field as a mere pit stop on their way to New Orleans for the Super Bowl. The Steelers came into that game with the league’s No. 1 rushing offense but managed only a messy 58 rushing yards against Belichick’s defense. So, if this Steelers team hopes to ride The Bus — or Duce, for that matter — to Jacksonville, they may want to make alternate plans.

The Steelers do, in fact, have a piece of recent history on their side; by beating the Patriots on Halloween earlier this season, the Steelers ended New England’s record winning streak at 21 games. This time, things will be different. Corey Dillon will be healthy and able to play, unlike last time, and Belichick will be facing a quarterback for the second time in the same season, a scenario Belichick has encountered 13 times, all of which resulted in Patriot victories.

Keith Brady Wehmeyer is a staff writer for The Pitt News, and is in no way related to the quarterback of the Patriots. Feel free to e-mail him at [email protected], just wait until after the game.