New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers live stream: Watch AFC Championship game live on TV, preview, start time

The New England Patriots (14-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (11-5) collide for the AFC Championship Sunday in a game that is 12 years in the making after Tom Brady & Co. torched Ben Roethlisberger at the same stage in 2004-05.

Since that defeat, the Steelers, led by Big Ben, went on two capture two Super Bowl championships but haven't crossed paths with the Patriots, who are chasing their fifth NFL title since Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era started in 2000. The Steelers, the winningest franchise in history, are chasing their seventh Super Bowl title and first since Super Bowl XLIII when they edged out the Arizona Cardinals in a nail-biting finish.

When the teams last met in October, Roethlisberger was out with a knee injury as the Patriots romped to an easy 27-16 victory at Heinz Field. A lot has changed since that early regular season game. The Steelers, led by their Big 3 of Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, have won eight of their last 10 games including a hard-fought 18-16 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Playoffs divisional round last weekend.

On paper, the Patriots, with home field advantage, start as odds-on favourites. After all, Brady has made a career out of blazing Pittsburgh, entering Sunday's game with a 9-2 record against the Steelers which includes 26 touchdowns and three interceptions. But Roethlisberger is not intimidated. "You've got one game to get to the Super Bowl. You're going to the dragon's lair. And we're trying to slay the dragon," a confident Roethlisberger said ahead of the AFC Championship game, via ESPN.

New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Tom Brady chasing history

If Brady, who turns 40 later this year, can get past the Steelers, he has the opportunity to tie Packers legend Bart Starr with a league-high five Super Bowl championships next month. But Roethlisberger, playing in his fifth conference championship game in 13 years, is determined to deny Brady a shot at history.

"It's two old guys playing this game for a long time. He (Brady) deserves all the credit he gets. I think this is more than just the two of us. We're not playing tennis. At the quarterback position, you get used to it -- a lot of talk quarterback vs. quarterback. I know and I'm sure he knows it's bigger than us."

The Steelers will be relying heavily on running back Le'Veon Bell, who rushed for an impressive 1,268 yards in just 12 regular season games and has developed good chemistry with his quarterback. Bill Belichick, coach of the Patriots, is well-known for devising a strategy to shut down the best player on the opposition. And entering Sunday's game, it's crystal clear that the Patriots have their hands full against Bell.

"He's (Bell) really a hard guy to tackle. He's got good vision, great patience, and he does a good job. Defensively he really forces you to be disciplined. You jump out of there too quickly then you open up gaps and open up space. Le'Veon has a great burst through the hole. He doesn't really need long to get through there, runs with good pad level. He's hard to tackle so if you don't get a full body on him then he'll run right through those arm tackles," said Belichick, who is chasing his fifth Super Bowl ring along with Brady.

Since 2001, only five Super Bowl titles have been contested without the presence of either Tom Brady or Ben Roethlisberger. If anything, that's an indication of how much the two elite quarterbacks have dominated the sport in the modern era. The winner of the Patriots-Steelers game will clash with the winners of the NFL Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons in next month's Super Bowl LI.

How to watch New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers live stream

Start time: 6:30 PM (ET), 3:30 PM (PT), 9:30 AM on Monday (AEST), 10:30 AM (AEDT)
On TV: CBS (USA) ESPN (Australia)
Live Stream: CBS Sports (USA), Watch ESPN (Australia), NFL Game Pass (Global), NFL Mobile App (USA)