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Pittsburgh Steelers vs New England Patriots: Thursday night preview

By Robert Brewer

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The NFL will open its 2015 season on Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the New England Patriots. The defending Super Bowl champions will be led by quarterbacking legend Tom Brady, who had his four game Deflate Gate suspension overturned after a lengthy battle in court. Meanwhile, the Steelers will be without running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Martavis Bryant. Bell and Bryant are both serving suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

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Although running backs Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley were released by New England in the offseason, the Patriots will still likely want to test Pittsburgh’s suspect defense with the short passing game. I expect Brady to start off dinking and dunking his way downfield. I anticipate New England receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola will get plenty of opportunities early in the game. Look for a small dose of the running game to compliment these short passes.

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Once Edelman and Amendola have established themselves as viable receiving targets, I think that is when Patriots’ monster tight end Rob Gronkowski will make his presence felt. Whether it is deep routes down the seam or red zone opportunities against smaller defenders, Gronk’s versatility will be too much for Pittsburgh to handle in my view. Pittsburgh’s defense finished 18th in the NFL in point allowed last season (368), and with the loss of defensive coordinating legend Dick LeBeau in the offseason, I feel that this unit has the makings of an inconsistent group in 2015.

Since I don’t think Pittsburgh’s defense can consistently stop Brady in the passing game, big plays on defense will be necessary for Pittsburgh to level the playing field. Steelers’ cornerback William Gay scored three defensive touchdowns last season, so if he can guess correctly and jump some short routes, a pick six may be a very real possibility.

Defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is also going to have to come up big for the Steelers’ D. Entering his fifth season, the former first round pick registered a career high 7.5 sacks last season. Heyward will have to take his game to a new level and apply serious pressure on Brady to give Pittsburgh a chance to win.

Oct 12, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward (97) celebrates after a sack during the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Perhaps offense can be Pittsburgh’s best defense against the Patriots in week one. Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for a career high 4,952 yards last season while guiding Pittsburgh to an AFC North division title. More importantly, the chemistry that Big Ben has developed with veteran receiver Antonio Brown has allowed this duo to become one of the best quarterback/receiver combinations in all of football.

If Big Ben can scramble out of trouble and give Brown time to get open, the Steelers may be able to keep pace with New England’s explosive offense. Without the aforementioned Bell and Bryant, receiver Markus Wheaton as well as veteran running back DeAngelo Williams will all figure into Pittsburgh’s offensive game plan.

Dec 28, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Markus Wheaton (11) returns a kickoff against the Cincinnati Bengals during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Steelers won 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

I think the x-factor in this game will be Steelers’ punter Jordan Berry. The Australian native had a very strong showing in training camp and also in the preseason which made last year’s punter Brad Wing expendable. Undrafted out of Eastern Kentucky in 2014, Berry will be playing in his first NFL regular season game on Thursday night. Berry has a golden opportunity to help a shaky Steelers’ D by putting the Patriots’ offense in bad field position. However, if Berry feels some big game jitters along the way, he can just as easily cost the Steelers the game.

According to oddsmaker.com, the New England Patriots are seven point favorites over Pittsburgh. My money is on the Patriots to cover the spread and win in an offensive bonanza. New England 37, Pittsburgh 23.

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