Respect abounds as Patriots host Steelers for AFC title

There are few things that Bill Belichick respects more than history in the NFL.

And few teams elicit as much praise from the Patriots coach as the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Part of it is the reverence that Belichick holds for the way Steelers founder Art Rooney and his family have operated a franchise that's remained among the league's best, winning multiple Super Bowl titles more than 30 years apart. It is a model emulated when Robert Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994 and six years later hired Belichick, who has nurtured a "Patriots Way" that has helped bring four Lombardi trophies to New England.

Those histories will collide when two of the most successful programs of the century meet in Sunday's AFC championship game.

"They've been tough to deal with going all the way back to coach [Chuck] Noll in the `70s," Belichick said. "They were pretty consistently tough to deal with through that entire period of time, which has been all of my years in the league."

Either New England or Pittsburgh has been a part of nine of the 17 Super Bowls since 2000, winning six championships between them. 

"They have a lot of wins over there," said Patriots receiver Julian Edelman. "It's nothing but respect for the Steelers. I went to school in Steelers Country over in Kent State. Half the school was in a Steelers jersey. I've known about that whole faithful for a while now."

History on Patriots' side

But for all their individual successes, the teams have met only four times in the playoffs. The Patriots have won three of those matchups, including the last two in the AFC title games in 2005 and 2002 at Heinz Field. Both times New England went on the win the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been a part of both of the Steelers' recent championships, but the 34-year-old's only playoff meeting with the Patriots was the 2005 loss when he was a rookie.

He has spoken often about his respect for the Patriots and Tom Brady, which included him requesting a jersey from Brady prior to Pittsburgh's loss to New England back in October . Big Ben missed that game because of knee surgery. This is the latest opportunity to play in "the lion's den," he said.

"They are the best in the world," Roethlisberger said. "They are the gold standard, if you will. So you want to have that opportunity to go up to play the best."

Brady is 6-2 in head-to-head matchups with Roethlisberger, but Roethlisberger didn't play in the Patriots' Week 7 win in Pittsburgh because he was recovering from surgery on his left knee.

Including the two playoff wins, Brady is 9-2 overall against Pittsburgh, including a 4-0 record at home . Roethlisberger is 3-6 all-time against New England.

History aside, Brady said he is expecting to get the best from Pittsburgh, which started the season 4-5 but has won its last nine.

"[Roethlisberger's] been a leader for that team for a long time and they've won a lot of games with him behind the center," Brady said. "It's going to be a great game."