The Pittsburgh Steelers are no strangers of being caught up in celebrations at Gillette Stadium. The Steelers were on-hand when the New England Patriots clinched a ticket to Super Bowl LI in 2017’s AFC Championship, and they will be in attendance when New England’s sixth Super Bowl banner drops.
Here are three storylines heading into Sunday night’s season opener in Foxboro:
1. Another chapter in the Tom Brady vs. Ben Roethlisberger rivalry
Since the Patriots thrashed the Steelers in the 2017 AFC Championship, Tom Brady has appeared in all three Super Bowls that have taken place since then, winning two of them. All the news has been on how much Brady has left in the tank with New England’s starting quarterback entering his age 42 season. Yet, Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is not that far off from Brady in terms of productivity as it may seem.
The biggest difference between the two future hall-of-fame quarterbacks Sunday is that the game is taking place at Gillette Stadium. Roethlisberger and the Steelers have never defeated the Patriots at Foxboro when Brady has maneuvererd the New England offense.
Brady has four more Super Bowl rings than Roethlisberger, but in the past couple years, Roethlisberger has posted bigger statistical numbers. The 37-year-old quarterback is not slowing down and is coming off a career year in 2018, throwing 34 touchdowns and for over 5,000 yards.
2. Patriots’ offensive uncertainties vs. a revamped Steelers defense
The Patriots offense was smothered by Pittsburgh’s defense in last December’s Week 15 loss at Heinz Field. That was when New England boasted a dominant playmaker in tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had a history of exploding against the Steelers defense. He retired in the offseason. The Patriots also lost starting center David Andrews to injured reserve.
Brady threw just 12 passes in the preseason and will be working with a group of pass-catchers with which he doesn’t have much rapport, outside of top receivers Julian Edelman and James White. The good news for Brady is that Josh Gordon returns from suspension earlier than expected, so it will be key to see if the duo can continue building on the chemistry they had before New England lost its deep threat late last December.
Will running back Sony Michel find any running room Sunday with the Patriots offensive line still looking to recover in the wake of Andrews being diagnosed with blood clots? New England released newly acquired Russell Bodine Friday morning, and Ted Karras will line up as starting center Sunday, but there are still mysteries yet to be solved along the Patriots offensive line.
Pittsburgh’s front seven is elite, featuring defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, defensive end Stephon Tuitt, and linebackers TJ Watt and Mark Barron, who was signed as a free agent. The Steelers also will be adding rookie Devin Bush to their linebacker unit. Joe Haden and Stephon Nelson headline the Pittsburgh secondary.
With an even more revamped Steelers defense, it will be a big test to see if Brady can overcome the uncertainties that surround New England’s offense at the start of the regular season.
3. Steelers high-powered offense vs. loaded Patriots defense
New England cornerbacks Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson aren’t ready to call Pittsburgh’s JuJu Smith-Schuster a top wide receiver in the league. Yet Smith-Schuster could see an increase in productivity after Antonio Brown’s departure. The Steelers No. 1 wide receiver is just 22-years old, but he put up over 1,400 receiving yards on 111 receptions last season.
It’s not just Smith-Schuster who the Patriots will need to focus on Sunday night, as Pittsburgh possesses speedy deep threats in former Colts receiver Donte Moncrief and second-year receiver James Washington. Tight end Vance McDonald is also coming off a career year. Outside of slowing down the Steelers passing game, New England will have their hands full in keeping running backs James Conner and Jaylen Samuels in check.
