The first occurred in the second quarter when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady used a deft play-action fake to suck in Clark's replacement, Anthony Smith, and throw a 63-yard touchdown to wide receiver Randy Moss that gave New England a 14-3 lead.

The other came in the third quarter when Brady again exploited Smith's aggressive tendencies and drew him toward the line of scrimmage with what looked to be a wide-receiver screen to Moss. But, when Moss threw the ball back to Brady on a flea-flicker, wide receiver Jabar Gaffney was left alone in the middle of the field for a 56-yard touchdown that gave the Patriots a 24-13 lead.

Would that have happened if Clark, who was out for the season with a spleen injury, was the starter at free safety, not Smith?

"You get caught on some plays," Clark said. "You throw a ball to Randy Moss and he throws it all the way back across the field, you're not expecting that. I don't know any player who, when they see Randy Moss get the ball, is not going to decide, 'I'm going to go full speed and try to tackle the ball.'

"He's one of the best playmakers in the league. That play would have fooled anyone. It's was an awesome play. Kudos to them for dialing that up."

That's what the Steelers are hoping to avoid when Clark and their No. 1 pass defense go back to Foxborough, Mass., today to face Moss and the Patriots.

The Steelers are the only team in the league that has allowed just one pass of 40 yards or longer this season. They also have allowed the fewest number of 20-yard or longer passes (15).

They might need some of that frugality against Moss.

"If you get single-safety coverages, if he gets matched up one-on-one downfield with defenders, then there are big-time problems," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "It has been that way for the 11 years he has been in the league, and nothing has changed."

Moss has 132 touchdowns catches since entering the league in 1998 and 31 since the start of the 2007 season, more than any other player in those spans. He averages one touchdown for every 6.27 receptions, a ratio that is the best among any receiver with at least 500 catches. What's more, he ranks second in NFL history with 59 100-yard receiving games.

Even though he doesn't even rank among the top 20 players in receptions in the league, Moss still is regarded as the most dangerous big-play receiver.

In the past two games, he has caught four of his team-high eight touchdowns, including three in a 48-28 victory in Miami a week ago.

The Steelers likely will use cornerback Ike Taylor to follow Moss, a tactic they used last year against the Patriots and also employed this year against Chad Johnson, Plaxico Burress, Santana Moss and Reggie Wayne.

But, many of their coverages likely will involve Clark rotating toward Moss to help Taylor on deep routes. And, hopefully, avoid a repeat of what happened last year.

"I'm not a miracle worker," Clark said. "What people tend to forget is Troy [Polamalu] didn't play, Aaron Smith doesn't play [the whole game]; there are a lot of good players that play for the Steelers who didn't get an opportunity to play that game."

One of them was Clark.