New England Patriots: 3 Players that must show up big vs. Steelers in Week 1
2. Julian Edelman
The second player that will need to show up and have a big performance in New England’s Week 1 matchup against Pittsburgh on the big stage of Sunday Night Football is veteran wide receiver Julian Edelman.
Edelman, who is entering his 10th season in the NFL and with the Patriots, put together another quality campaign in 2018 while appearing in a total of 12 games for New England.
The three-time Super Bowl Champion and veteran wideout concluded the year with a total of 850 receiving yards on 74 catches and 108 targets, averaging 70.8 yards per game and gathering a catch percentage of 68.5 percent. While also rushing for 107 yards on nine carries, Edelman finished the year with a total of six touchdowns.
Edelman, who has played a large role within the Patriots offense both during the regular season and throughout the postseason since arriving in New England in 2009, must have another big game this Sunday in the season opener against one of New England’s biggest rivals.
While helping the Patriots average 266.1 passing yards per game in 2018, which ranked eighth in the NFL, Edelman has the ability to open things up for the New England offense while flying around both the outside and the middle of the field as a primary target for Tom Brady.
Pittsburgh’s defense will likely put the Patriots passing game to the test, however, as the Steelers allowed opponents to throw for an average of 231.1 yards per game a year ago, which ranked 10th-best in the league throughout the regular season.
Edelman has been a reliable and key target for Brady to levitate towards throughout the course of a game, and that should be the case again in Week 1. In Sunday’s game, Brady could look to Edelman once again early and often, which would result in the wide receiver putting together a quality performance.
Edelman has been and will continue to be a big piece within the Patriots offense and he will need to show up right out of the gate during the marquee matchup against the Steelers on Sunday night in Foxborough.