FOXBORO, Mass. -- The Pittsburgh Steelers waited eight months for this?

	Stewart

The Steelers fizzled in their attempt to avenge last year's AFC title game loss, with Kordell Stewart committing four turnovers Monday night in a 30-14 loss to the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.

"It happened,'' Stewart said. "It's not anything to hold my head down about, just to learn from.''

It's not clear how many more of these lessons the Steelers can afford.

After a strong season in which Stewart seemed to snap out of a 2½-year funk, he took several steps backward in last year's conference championship against New England. He threw three interceptions and the Patriots won 24-17.

Several Steelers insisted they were still the better team, beaten only by bad luck and a pair of touchdowns allowed on special teams. And when New England went on to beat the St. Louis 20-17 in the Super Bowl, the Steelers stewed over their missed opportunity.

No one is talking about that now.

"I kind of had a sour taste in my mouth for eight months, losing the AFC championship game,'' wide receiver Plaxico Burress said. "And we don't lose this one, we get whipped.

"Anybody who isn't disappointed with that shouldn't be here.''

Although Stewart insisted this game had no special meaning -- just "one of 16,'' no more or less important than any other -- he did say it gave the Steelers a chance to see how they compared to the NFL's top teams.

And the answer wasn't good.

"Basically, we got or behinds kicked,'' he said. "We gave them opportunities and shot ourselves in the foot a few times.''

Stewart was 17-for-28 for 151 yards and three interceptions before padding his stats with a meaningless final drive that ended with his 1-yard touchdown run. In all, he was 24-for-37 for 242 yards.

He also fumbled once and was sacked five times, losing 38 yards. He was called for another fumble that the Patriots ran in for a touchdown before the referees ruled that the ground forced the ball out.

Two of his first three passes were intercepted, putting an early end to the Steelers' first two drives.

"Playing on the road, the thing you want to do is start fast and play smart,'' coach Bill Cowher said. "He didn't do either.''

But it wasn't all Stewart's fault.

The Steelers took some untimely penalties -- 13 for 112 yards in all. There were three on the drive that resulted in New England's first touchdown and three more after they had first-and-goal from the 1, pushing them far enough back for Todd Peterson to miss a 39-yard field goal.

"That's not a disciplined team,'' defensive back Mike Logan said. "We are going to have to regroup.''