Jan. 27
Patriots 24, Steelers 17: Well, you have to give it to Patriots owner Robert Kraft. When he was asked to pay a No. 1 pick to the New York Jets for Bill Belichick, he put up only a little fuss. Eventually, he put up the first-rounder. Two years later, now you know why.

	Drew Bledsoe played for the first time since suffering an injury in Week 2.

Is there any doubt the Patriots are back in the Super Bowl because of Belichick? I have no regrets at casting my coach-of-the-year vote for the Bears' Dick Jauron, but now that the dust is settling on the full NFL season, Belichick obviously is the guy.

As Buffalo Bills president and general manager Tom Donohoe told me this week: "What Belichick has done is not just the best job of coaching in the NFL this year, it might be the best job of coaching in any year."

Belichick and staff knew what they wanted to do Sunday. The Pats' defense would stop the run at almost all costs. They would make Kordell Stewart beat them. And, frankly, as much improvement as Stewart has made this season, he is no match for Belichick. Stewart clearly was unsettled. Even when he had wide-open receivers down the stretch, he was not throwing with confidence.

Offensively, the Patriots thought they could throw the ball because they felt quite capable of picking up the Steelers' blitz. Again, this is the mastery of Belichick, with help from offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. You think there's any blitz out there Belichick hasn't thought of?

How about Drew Bledsoe? He came off the bench for injured Tom Brady to throw a perfect touchdown pass. He started to show his rust at the start of the second half. The Steelers got momentum. You wondered. Then Belichick steadied his team, and Bledsoe made a handful of clutch throws. Ah, who would have thought it?

Belichick also overmatched Steelers coach Bill Cowher. For one, Cowher obviously became too enamored with Jerome Bettis being available for the first time since mid-season. Bettis apparently looked pretty strong in practice Thursday; but that was practice, right? Cowher and the Steelers tried to force Bettis. He never ran like "The Bus," just as nobody should have anticipated because the guy has had a serious injury. And the Steelers never got any rhythm on offense. Amos Zereoue made more sense. Just as Belichick planned, that put the ball in Stewart's hands.

Another element working against the Steelers requires some guesswork. Word out of Pittsburgh is that the Steelers were very confident about the AFC title game. Overconfident? Perhaps. Remember, the Steelers invested a lot emotionally in their game with the Baltimore Ravens. Did they play their championship game the week before? Maybe.

Or maybe the best team -- or the best-coached team -- just earned a trip to the Super Bowl.

Rams 29, Eagles 24: The last time I saw this game was in January 1994. Super Bowl in Atlanta. Dallas vs. Buffalo. The Bills had a 13-10 lead at halftime, and the Cowboys received the opening kickoff. Norv Turner, the Dallas offensive coordinator, didn't mess around. He called for six consecutive handoffs to Emmitt Smith. There was a short pass. Then another handoff and, boom, Smith was in the end zone. The Bills were broken.

	Aeneas Williams intercepted Donovan McNabb to all but seal the Rams' victory.

Sunday, the Rams trailed the Eagles 17-13 at halftime. They took the second-half kickoff. Rams coach Mike Martz had Kurt Warner hand off to Marshall Faulk seven consecutive times. Next thing you know, Jeff Wilkins kicks a field goal to make it 17-16. Then, on the next possession, Faulk was in the end zone and the Rams took a 22-17 lead. The defense began to dominate. The Eagles ran just five plays in the third quarter.

When Faulk wasn't doing it, Warner was on his game and clearly rose to the occasion in the face of mounting adversity over the past two weeks -- a throat injury, the flu, bruised ribs, a missed practice and a daunting Eagles defense. The Rams picked up the blitz all night and did it again when Warner and Faulk delivered another scoring drive for a 29-17 lead. But the Rams' defense that had buttoned things down suddenly relaxed, and the Eagles suddenly had a shot to pull an upset by scoring a TD and getting the ball back with a short field and a little more than two minutes left to play.

Enter Aeneas Williams. Back when I was casting those All-Pro ballots at the end of the season, Martz suggested that I not automatically assume that the Defensive Player of the Year race was between Michael Strahan and Brian Urlacher. He asked me to consider Williams for not only playing great football on the field, but for leading his young Rams defense off the field in preparation and work ethic.

When Williams returned two interceptions for touchdowns against Brett Favre the week before, I wondered whether I should have cast my vote for the veteran corner. When he intercepted Donovan McNabb to cinch the game with just less than two minutes left, I wondered again. As Belichick is my full-season coach of the year, Williams might be my full-season defensive MVP.

Anyway, the Rams beat a very good Philadelphia team Sunday. The result could have swung the other way had McNabb had more dependable receivers. Still, the Rams don't have to win games by 30 points to prove they are worthy of their second trip in three seasons to the Super Bowl. They proved they can win a game any way they want. They were better on offense, they were better on defense, and they were better on special teams.

My early thoughts on Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans: We see a great offensive mind (Martz) playing chess with a great defensive mind (Belichick). They have tremendous respect for each other. Martz shared with me two or three weeks ago that the best team the Rams had played was the Patriots. Likewise, Belichick has privately told people that the Rams' offense is as difficult to game-plan against as any he has ever faced.

I like the Rams to win. I don't think the Patriots have the speed to contend with St. Louis on the artificial turf of the Superdome. But a week ago, I did not think the Patriots had the muscle to contend with the Steelers. I was wrong.