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Thursday Night Football Predictions: Pittsburgh Steelers Shine Brightest

ByDan Salem|

Who will step up to be the breakout star of Thursday Night Football in week one? The Steelers and Patriots clash, but only one NFL player will shine brightest. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Check out more of the brothers in Seesaw Sports Debate on BuzzChomp. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.

DAN:

Every Thursday during the 2015 NFL season, we’ll predict the breakout performer, highlighting the star to be from Thursday night’s game. We’ve got a killer matchup to open the 2015 NFL season on Thursday Night Football. The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers in a battle of top offenses and questionable defenses. Someone is going to step up and steal the show. I’ll kick things off with my own prediction.

The star of Thursday Night Football, from both fantasy and real life perspectives, will be Antonio Brown. Despite all the noise and pre-game shenanigans, Brown leads his Steelers to victory.

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The Patriots have a chip on their shoulders. Tom Brady has never lost a week one home game. The Steelers are without their top running back and second wide receiver. All of the pre-game notes point to New England blowing the doors off of Pittsburgh and cruising to victory. That’s all wrong.

If the Patriots have a known weakness, its their pass defense. The obvious strength of the Steelers is their pass offense. Check mate. Ben Roethlisberger will have a nice night, but Antonio Brown is the real star here. Multiple touchdowns and over 100 yards receiving is a great way to get this season underway.

TODD:

Week one has a lot of stars and a lot of intrigue. It’s a great matchup to start with. When the Steelers face the Patriots tonight, your pick will certainly have a nice game. But it’s because of the performance of my breakout star. The man I am going with is none other than Big Ben Roethlisberger.

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Roethlisberger is the choice for a number of reasons. First off, New England and Tom Brady are getting all the buzz here because of the Deflategate nonsense. Meanwhile, Pitt and Ben are laying in wait, ready to prove they deserve to be in the news.

Everyone is saying Brady is going to come out mad in his first contest; well I think Roethlisberger will be doing the same because no one is even mentioning him.

The other reasons to pick Ben for this honor are more concrete and easier to pinpoint.

Pittsburgh will be without Le’Veon Bell, meaning the offense will fall squarely on the wide shoulders of its quarterback. Although Martavis Bryant is suspended as well, the Steelers will still have the man you chose to top all others this night, Antonio Brown, AKA the best wide receiver in the game.

On the other side, the Patriots cornerbacks are bad. This is a lethal combination resulting in some inflated numbers for Ben. I’m not sure Pittsburgh will win the game, but it doesn’t have to for Ben Roethilisberger to be the night’s best performer.

Dan Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also Lead Editor, Staff Writer, and Featured Vlogger at BuzzChomp, and a New York Jets Analyst for Pro Football Spot. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or Instagram.

Todd Salem is a Staff Writer for NFL Spinzone. He’s also a Contributing Editor at BuzzChomp, a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, and an Analyst for Tipster Labs, among others. Follow him on Twitter.

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