The New England Patriots stay on the road in week 15 to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in what could be a preview of the 2017 AFC Championship. The Steelers currently hold sole possession of the lead in the AFC after the Patriots heartbreaking loss to the Miami Dolphins. Should the Patriots defeat the Steelers this week, both teams would sit atop the conference at 11-3. The head-to-head tiebreaker would make the Patriots the top seed in the AFC. Here are the Week 15 New England Patriots Keys to Victory if they wish to reclaim their throne as the AFC’s leading team.
Week 15 New England Patriots Keys to Victory
Cut the Killer Bs to Two
Ben Roethlisberger. Antonio Brown. Le’Veon Bell. Chris Boswell. The Pittsburgh Steelers Killer Bs. Roethlisberger, Brown, and Bell are easily the best offensive trio in the league. Brown is the league leader in receptions and receiving yards. Bell is the league’s leading rusher, in yards and touchdowns. Roethlisberger tossed for 500 plus yards against a Baltimore Ravens defense that has been dominant against the pass. The Steelers have won many clutch games on the leg of Boswell, including last week’s game against the Ravens.
Somehow, the Patriots defense has to cut out two of these options. Double cover Brown. Shore up the run and short pass defense. Get pressure and hits on Roethlisberger. Keep the Steelers from getting into field goal range.
The defense was abysmal in week 14, letting Jay Cutler and Kenyan Drake run rampant in a key game. The Patriots cannot allow a repeat performance against a Steelers offense that has 29 points or more in every home matchup since their week five loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Get Gronkowski in the Gameplan
Tom Brady looked lost in Miami without Rob Gronkowski. Thankfully, the star tight end has served his one-game suspension and will return on Sunday, given that the Patriots resolve the roster exemption. With Gronkowski back on the field, the Patriots offensive efficiency will improve significantly. After going 0 for 11 on third downs in Miami, the offense can expect to rely heavily on him to move the ball on key downs.
Gronkowski is the team’s leading receiver, but he also serves a much bigger purpose. His presence on the field draws enough attention to open up the rest of the Patriots host of pass-catchers. Without him in Miami, the passing game became much easier to cover. New England receivers didn’t catch a single pass until far too late in the game despite the return of Chris Hogan. By reestablishing one of the best quarterback-tight end combinations in football, the offense should look much more like the Super Bowl-bound team fans expect.
Rest and Rehabilitate
ESPN’s Mike Reiss reported early on Wednesday that Bill Belichick plans to have a lighter practice mid-week and up the intensity on Thursday. This will be the Patriots fifth road game in six weeks. Players are dropping left and right. The defense is decimated. The offensive line is overwhelmed. The personnel in New England is exhausted and injured. The team is currently in an unsustainable state.
The Patriots will need all of their stars to be able to leave Pittsburgh victorious on Sunday. Wednesday’s injury report had Hogan, Kyle Van Noy, Trey Flowers and Malcolm Butler participating in a limited capacity and defensive tackle Alan Branch sitting out of practice entirely. Brady and Brandin Cooks were both full participants.
Tom Brady is coming off of one of the worst games of his career. Tom Brady is not a man that teams want to face when he’s angry. The Patriots are 40-11 coming off a loss during the Belichick era. The Patriots last lost back-to-back games in 2015 when they dropped consecutive games to the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins at the end of the regular season. Although this game will be an uphill battle for the playoff-bound Patriots, expect to see some fire on both sides of the ball for New England.
The Patriots and Steelers will face off at 4:25 PM EST on Sunday.
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