The New England Patriots are hoping for better luck when trekking down to Acrisure Stadium for a clash with the longstanding, out-of-division rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’ll be another uphill battle for a Patriots team that still looks shaky offensively. If any team understands New England’s plight, it would be the Steelers with Mitchell Trubisky under center. They leaned on defense heavily to knock off Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s opener.
The Patriots failed to do the same against the Miami Dolphins in a game where they coughed up three turnovers in a 20-7 loss.
We’ll see if they can muster a bounce-back performance and avoid a 0-2 start to the season on Sunday. Here are three key matchups worth keeping an eye on in this game.
Patriots offensive line vs Steelers defensive line
The Patriots must win the battle in the trenches to survive Sunday’s run-in with the vaunted Steelers defense. It’s a terrifying matchup even without T.J. Watt on the field. The reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year is out for this game with a partially torn pectoral muscle.
But don’t think for one second that the Steelers aren’t licking their chops at the thought of sending linebacker Alex Highsmith off the edge to get after a banged-up Mac Jones in the pocket. Patriots left tackle Trent Brown had a bad day against the Dolphins, and he’ll need to redeem himself in a big way against the Steelers’ defense.
Let's gooo @BlessedJones33 and @MelvinIngram‼️
📺: Watch #NEvsMIA on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/HMPWFSFpeW
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 11, 2022
Jones may not have much time under center to work, which means the Patriots will be heavily-dependent on the run game, screens and short passes to try and use Pittsburgh’s aggressiveness against them. But if the Patriots lose the battle in the trenches, it’ll be another long afternoon for Jones and the offense.
Patriots running backs vs Steelers defensive front
We’re keeping it in the trenches with this battle because it’s imperative that the Patriots get at least something going on the ground in this game.
I get the rush to want to crown Rhamondre Stevenson as the guy in New England, but Damien Harris is still the biggest hammer the team has in the offensive backfield. He proved it against the Dolphins by averaging 5.3 yards per carry.
But he only had nine carries in total.
Look, the Steelers have built a brick wall along the defensive front, and it took Bengals running back Joe Mixon 27 attempts to even muster 82 rushing yards. But the Patriots can’t allow themselves to get away from the run game. They must stay consistent in hopes of Harris or Stevenson breaking free for a long gain.
There’s also the need to do a better job of setting up the play-action pass, which the Patriots only utilized twice in their loss to the Dolphins. That’s obviously easier said than done when running into the teeth of a defensive front with players like Highsmith, Devin Bush, Myles Jack, Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu and Larry Ogunjobi.
Patriots edge rushers vs Mitchell Trubisky
The Steelers were able to survive their season-opening run-in with the Bengals due to their defense creating complete mayhem with five forced turnovers.
And yet, even with that many turnovers, the team still only came away with 23 points, including one offensive touchdown. There are serious question marks right now for the Steelers at the quarterback position with Mitchell Trubisky under center and Kenny Pickett waiting in the wings.
It’s well-documented that there have been multiple instances in the past where Trubisky became a turnover machine. The Patriots have to hope key playmakers like Matthew Judon and Deatrich Wise Jr. can do enough damage on the edges to make Trubisky start getting happy feet in the pocket.
Good things happen for opposing defenses when Trubisky starts throwing up prayer passes. The Steelers aren’t nearly as scary at the receiver position, and although running back Najee Harris is expected to play in this game, he’s still working his way through a foot injury.
If the Patriots’ pass rushers can generate consistent pressure, they could create opportunities to shorten the field and make things a lot easier on their offense.
