The Patriots looked like they had finally scored with a pass to Rob Gronkowski, but he was marked at the one yard line. Kevin Faulk's catch would be denied by Ryan Clark on the following play before a final fourth down play would be broken up.
Fortunately for the Patriots, a holding call against the Steelers would give the Patriots a new set of downs and the first of those downs, Brady would toss a touchdown to Aaron Hernandez with 2:35 remaining in the game to make it 23-17 Steelers.
The explosive offense of the first half had grinded to a halt in the second as no drives by either team had resulted in touchdowns until Hernandez's score. Only the Steelers had produced two field goals, including a 23-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham with 11:30 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 23-10 lead.
The Patriots would punt on the following possession but a missed field goal by Suisham would leave the score at a stand still.