Peter Diana, Post-Gazette Plaxico Burress drops a 3-yard pass on a fade route in the end zone as he is defended by safety Eugene Wilson (26) and cornerback Asanti Samuel (22). Click photo for larger image.

Plaxico Burress took his time getting dressed, sighing occasionally, taking a couple deep breaths, even sneezing. Finally, after flinging on a mink coat and donning a knit cap, he turned around and all but waved goodbye to the Steelers.

Burress is an unrestricted free agent, and he sounded as if last night's 41-27 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game was his final game in a Steelers uniform.

"Everybody tells me how important I am to the team," Burress said. "But I can't justify that right now.

"Just look at the whole season. You saw it. I thought I would have made a little bit of an impact. But that's the game plan."

Burress was upset that he caught just three passes for 37 yards against the Patriots, intimating he was not a big factor in the game plan employed by offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt.

But Burress had chances to make several big plays for the Steelers, including when he dropped a 3-yard pass on a fade route in the end zone in which he easily towered over Asanti Samuel, a 5-foot-10 cornerback.

The touchdown would have cut the Patriots' lead to 31-24 with more than 14 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Instead, the Steelers had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Jeff Reed.

In the second quarter, Burress appeared to beat Samuel down the left sideline for a deep pass from Ben Roethlisberger. But Burress lost his footing before he could make a play on the ball and the pass fell incomplete.

"I just don't feel like I'm involved," Burress said. "That's my personal feeling. That's the way I feel."

Burress caught a meaningless 7-yard touchdown from Roethlisberger with 52 seconds remaining, beating former teammate Hank Poteat in the corner of the end zone. But the outcome had long been determined.

Burress said he was not being critical of Roethlisberger, who was intercepted three times by the Patriots, which includes one that was returned 87 yards for touchdown by safety Rodney Harrison.

"Ben's a good quarterback, no question about it. He's going to be a great quarterback. You can see he has all the attributes. There's nothing he can't do. But things just don't fit. Somebody has to make a change."

The Steelers will try to re-sign Burress, but he likely will receive a big offer on the free-agent market that would preclude any real attempt to reach a contract agreement. Part of that is because the Steelers have told three-time Pro Bowl receiver Hines Ward he would be a "priority" to have his contract extended. Ward's contract expires after the 2005 season.

Asked if that was his last game with the Steelers, Burress said, "Probably so."

Then he added, "It's Pittsburgh, which speaks for itself. They're not going to change. I'm not going to change. Three or four balls just doesn't suit me very well."

Ward finished with five catches for 109 yards, including a 30-yard catch-and-run for touchdown that cut the Patriots' lead to 31-17. He said he hasn't even thought if Burress will be back next season.

"That's far from what I'm thinking about right now," Ward said. "I'm not thinking about next year and who's going to be here. It's not something I can control anyway."

Burress' numbers were not lofty because he missed five of the final six games during the regular season with a hamstring injury. He had 35 catches, but his per-catch average of 19.9 was second only to Denver's Ashley Lelie (20.1) among the top 42 receivers in the AFC.

He also insisted he is not interested in being the team's No. 1 receiver. He merely wants to be more involved, and he said last night was another example that he isn't.

"I said that at the beginning of the year -- all I want to do is win football games," Burress said. "If you got guys who can go out and make plays, you should give them an opportunity to go out and make plays.

"Put some onus on our shoulders. Let us go out and get some things going. I can't change that."

He might, though, change his address.