The Pittsburgh Steelers got their wish.
Now the question becomes should the Steelers be careful what they wish for?
In a ruling that is certain to send shockwaves throughout the NFL and bring outrage to most fans outside of New England, Judge Richard Berman announced this morning that the four game suspension of Tom Brady related to the “deflategate” scandal has been nullified.
In other words, this time next week the Steelers will head to Foxboro not only with the challenge of facing the defending Super Bowl champions, but having to do so with their franchise quarterback under center.
After months of speculation and debate, the Steelers now have a week to prepare for Brady even though they were led to believe it would be Jimmy Garoppolo who would get his first start against the black and gold.
Despite of what might have been said by players to the media, or how well Garoppolo has played in the preseason, the Steelers will now face another serious hurdle with the nullification of the Brady suspension.
Already having to prepare for life without Le’Veon Bell and Maurkice Pouncey, both All-Pros, along with the suspension of Martavis Bryant, the Steelers were already facing an uphill climb attempting to steal an opening game victory against the Patriots.
Brady has a long history of success against the Steelers. In the regular season, Brady has a 5-2 record with 18 TD’s to only three interceptions. He’s also thrown for over 2,300 yards in those seven games with completion percentage just under 70 percent. In Brady’s last home start against the Steelers in 2013, Brady threw for 432 yards and four touchdowns in a 55-31 win.
Considering the serious question marks surrounding the Steeler defense, Brady being back for the season opener can’t be welcome news. The Steelers have clearly have had some serious growing pains learning a new scheme under first year defensive coordinator Keith Butler and it has shown in the preseason.
Now with Brady back for week one, Butler will have a busy week trying to find ways to stop one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
Though the nullification of the Brady suspension does not come as a complete surprise, it fits the theme of the Steelers seemingly facing a stacked deck where nothing seems to be working in the teams favor. With Brady in the fold, the Steelers will need their fortunes to change quickly if they hope to earn a win in the season opener.
