In its first season of operations, Heinz Field joined the rich playoff history of the Pittsburgh Steelers as they advanced to the AFC Championship contest on January 27, 2002. This football is from that 24-17 New England Patriots' victory, and came from a field worker. The ball shows nice use and has a color-coded mark on the lacing along with Dymo tape label indicating the date, game and score. After clinching the Central Division title with a 13-3 record, Pittsburgh advanced to the conference final as their rally fell short against the eventual Super Bowl champs.