Steelers Patriots
Steelers Patriots
The Pittsburgh Steelers look to keep their undefeated record alive against the New England Patriots this week, but it’s not a game many are expecting them to win. Coming off a Super Bowl appearance, New England narrowly lost to Seattle in the season opener and comes into Sunday’s game as heavy favorites.
However, the Steelers were able to sneak out of Foxborough with a win last year. This time, beat writer Mark Kaboly thinks a win will be even easier to come by.
“I think the Steelers are gonna win this kind of easily, I do… (The Patriots) have no pass rush. Their two tackles are somewhat suspect,” Kaboly said Friday on 93.7 The Fan. “I think the Steelers are gonna put things together here and win this one relatively easy. It’s gonna be a little bit lower scoring.”
Asked for a score, Kaboly predicted the Steelers would win 20-10. He’s predicting a two-score win, after the Steelers beat New England 21-14 in Week 3 last year.
There is some reasoning behind his belief in the Steelers. For one, the Patriots didn’t look very dominant last week. Defensively, they allowed Drew Lock to make some big throws down the stretch. Offensively, the Patriots couldn’t get anything going, and Drake Maye threw three back-breaking interceptions in the second half.
Maye has had some rough games against the better defenses he’s faced, and the Steelers were up to the task last week. Jaquan Brisker and T.J. Watt both intercepted Cooper Rush. Watt took his back for a score. Watt had two of his own sacks, and Highsmith did as well. The Steelers mostly contained Bijan Robinson despite the Falcons’ force-feeding him the ball.
However, that game was against Cooper Rush. Drake Maye is a much better quarterback, and although he won’t have A,J. Brown, getting TreVeyon Henderson back is massive for the Patriots’ offense.
Most importantly, the Steelers are going to have to score some points of their own. They couldn’t establish the run game against a weakened Atlanta front, and while there were some positives through the air, Aaron Rodgers just couldn’t connect on the big plays. The Steelers will need to be better offensively to have any chance at a win.
But Kaboly thinks the Steelers have more than just a chance to beat the Patriots. He expects the Steelers to head back home with a 2-0 record after an easy win.