A trying season continues for the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) in Foxboro, MA on Sunday when they take on the New England Patriots (6-2) at Gillette Stadium. Tom Brady and his first-place team are 4-0 at home, while the Steelers are 1-3 away from Heinz Field. It will be tenth meeting between the two teams since Tom Brady became the starter in 2001; New England leads the series 6-3 in that span. Pittsburgh has won two of the last three matches, including the last one played at New England, a 33-10 victory in November 2008.
Pittsburgh comes off a devastating and error-prone 21-18 loss at Oakland last week that ended a modest two-game winning streak that had sparked discussions that maybe they could fight their way back into playoff contention. A fifth loss in seven games, especially to the perennially-troubled Raiders, may have effectively ended those optimistic talks. Now, unless an upset on the road can be achieved, a 2-6 start will all but officially rule the Steelers out of playoff contention, and may start a rare rebuilding mode for the six-time Super Bowl champion franchise.
The key to the game may very well be whether or not rookie RB Le’Veon Bell can spark any kind of success in the running game, especially behind a porous and debilitated offensive line. It is a line that will be without guard David DeCastro, who will be replaced by veteran Guy Whimper. The 30th-ranked Pittsburgh rushing offense (68.7 yards per game) will get to face the 31st-ranked New England rushing defense (130.8 yards per game), so perhaps a breakout is in order. On the other side of the football, New England’s unusually pedestrian passing offense (209.4 yards per game) will go up against Pittsburgh’s 2nd-ranked passing defense (181 yards per game). These two matchups should prove be the difference in determining if Pittsburgh will compete. All numbers aside, however, Pittsburgh simply must eliminate the mistakes. Turnovers, questionable play-calling, and agonizing clock management have tortured Todd Haley’s offense and, in Dick LeBeau’s vaunted defense, big plays and inability to generate mistakes by the opposition have been very costly.
That defense will surely be tested by Tom Brady, even if he lacks his usual slate of weapons. No Wes Welker, no Aaron Hernandez, and injuries earlier to TE Rob Gronkowski and WR Danny Amendola have made life a little more difficult for the Pro Bowl QB, who has expressed notable frustration at times. Amendola and Julian Edelman are both probable for Sunday, but as of Saturday RB Leon Washington and CB Aqib Talib are listed as questionable for New England. Talib’s absence could be vital as Ben Roethlisberger would have a considerably less difficult time finding open receivers without him on the field.
Brady will look for Gronkowski and Amendola, as well as rookies Kenbrell Tompkins and Aaron Dobson. New England also has a slate of running backs who get significant opportunities, including Stevan Ridley, LeGarrette Blount, and Brandon Bolden. Offensively for Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger should be able to find Antonio Brown quite a bit if Talib does not play, but he will also look to build on Emmanuel Sanders’ success last week and, as always, will keep Heath Miller in the mix. Bell, Felix Jones, and Jonathan Dwyer must find yards in the running game in order to open things up for Roethlisberger.
Even with one team struggling mightily, this rivalry continues in Week 9 as Pittsburgh is desperate for an upset to remain somewhat relevant in the AFC. A loss by AFC North division-leading Cincinnati (6-3) on Thursday provides the Steelers with an opportunity to pick up a game in this week, which would put them 2.5 games back in the standings at the midpoint of the season.
