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Pittsburgh Steelers: 3 Toughest games of 2019 season

By Samuel Teets

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - FEBRUARY 03: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots reacts in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Rams during Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 03, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – FEBRUARY 03: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots and teammate Tom Brady #12 celebrate at the end of the Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. The New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – FEBRUARY 03: Julian Edelman #11 of the New England Patriots and teammate Tom Brady #12 celebrate at the end of the Super Bowl LIII at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on February 3, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. The New England Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams 13-3. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

1. New England Patriots – Week 1

The Steelers will face a trial by fire right out of the gate in 2019. The Steelers have lost to New England in three of the last four regular seasons. The Patriots also defeated the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game game back in 2016.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady were a hurdle Pittsburgh wasn’t able to get over until last season. Mike Tomlin and company took down New England in a signature 17-10 win in Week 15. Even then, the Steelers failed to capitalize and make the playoffs.

With Rob Gronkowski retiring, the Steelers have a better shot to beat New England this coming season. Gronk torched the Steelers in their previous matchups, with the exception of Week 15 last season when he was hobbled by a season’s worth of injuries. Then again, the defending Super Bowl champs did add tight end Benjamin Watson and wide receivers Braxton Berrios, N’Keal Harry and Demaryius Thomas during the offseason.

In their last five matchups, regular and postseason, the Steelers’ 2018 win was the only instance in which neither team scored 20 points. Several of the other games look more like the shootouts the Steelers have become more enthralled with since the defense took a back seat to the high-powered offense.

However, it seems like the key to beating the Patriots is by holding Brady in check and forcing his offense to make mistakes.

Next. Steelers: 5 Most important players for 2019. dark

Besides the three teams that appeared in this article, the Steelers will also face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, the Ravens in Weeks 5 and 17 and the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. The Cleveland Browns, who the Steelers face in Weeks 11 and 13, will also be challenging this year.

It’s a shame how Pittsburgh’s season fell apart in 2018 because things will be even harder for the team this year.

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