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 DETROIT (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers owned the easy road to the Super Bowl all those years they squandered home-field advantage, all those years coach Bill Cowher's teams couldn't stand up to the pressure, the moment, the challenge.
Maybe this is what was needed to bring out the best in a team that often was among the NFL's top teams, but never played like it when it counted most: the toughest road to a Super Bowl championship.
No team had won three road playoff games and then the Super Bowl, much less by beating the top three teams in its conference and the best from the opposing conference. Making the challenge even greater, the Steelers had to win their final four regular-season games just to reach the playoffs.
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