NFL-Steelers tip hat to Super Bowl-bound Patriots

By Larry Fine

FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Jan 22 ( Reuters) - Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and his players were gracious in defeat after falling one hurdle short of the Super Bowl, praising the Patriots for being the better team on Sunday.

"I tip my cap to those guys, they are the champions of the AFC and rightfully so," Tomlin said after the 36-17 loss at Gillette Stadium in the American Football Conference title game.

"Not a lot went our way tonight. Not only in terms of the final score, but just how the game was played. They are to be complimented for that.

"We didn't get the things done that we wanted to get done ... to be competitive and close."

Tomlin lamented that the Patriots were able to dictate the pace of play.

"The style of play of the game was probably what was most disappointing," he said. "It leaned towards more of their style than our style of play and that's not what we wanted.

"We just didn't make enough plays. We weren't tight on coverage, we didn't apply enough pressure to the quarterback."

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was equally upset.

"It's a little frustrating. It's just one play here, one play there and tonight we didn't make those plays," Roethlisberger said.

The Patriots paid extra attention to premier wide receiver Antonio Brown and opportunities for Pittsburgh's secondary receivers, Sammie Coates and Cobi Hamilton were not converted.

"We didn't make enough of the plays. You know, that's the life, man," Tomlin said.

"You get an opportunity, you get combat-catch opportunities, you got to make them when you are a championship-calibre player, championship-level football - we didn't do enough of it."

Safety Mike Mitchell also praised the Pirates.

"They did a really good job of just keeping us kind of off balance with the tempo," he said.

Added cornerback William Gay: "The Pats, they executed better than we did. Hats off to them."

Two-time Super Bowl winner Roethlisberger said despite the disappointment, the Steelers had accomplished a great deal.

"I told the guys afterward that I was proud of them," he said. "We went from 4-5 to the championship game. I'm just really proud of the guys. There's just a lot of love." (Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)