In one of the most exhausting opening day performances, the Pittsburgh Steelers enter their 2022 home opener at 1-0. The New England Patriots are making their first trip into Pittsburgh without Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and other key contributors from their championship era in several years. Where the Steelers are coming off a momentous division win on the road, the Patriots are entering this week 0-1 after their loss in Miami to the Miami Dolphins. In the twelfth chapter of head coaches Mike Tomlin and Bill Belichick squaring off, there is early-season momentum at stake for each team in what will be the first regular season NFL action at Acrisure Stadium.
Steelers' Chase Claypool (#11) gets ready for the Week 2 contest against the New England Patriots | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
Let’s take a look at some things we can look forward to when the Steelers take on the Patriots.
MATCHUPS AT A GLANCE
Offense: The formula for the offense this week is going to be one we haven’t seen in recent seasons’ past; pass first. On Wednesday, Mitch Trubisky told us the offense wants to be more aggressive this week in pushing the ball downfield and getting the ball to their playmakers on the outside. That includes converting on third downs and keeping the offense on the field beyond three plays. Therefore, the biggest set of matchups we should watch is Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, George Pickens, and Miles Boykin versus Jalen Mills, Jon Jones, and Devin McCourty.
The New England secondary had their hands full last week with Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle and gave up 163 receiving yards with a touchdown between the two receivers. Overall, New England allowed an average of 11.7 yards-per-reception last week. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh only posted 194 receiving yards amongst 6 pass catchers and averaged 9.4 yards-per-reception last week. For the offense to effectively execute on third down, the receivers and Trubisky are going to have to play a big part in that effort and keep that "aggressive" mindset.
Steelers' Mitch Trubisky (#10) gets ready for the Patriots this week. | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
The New England defense likes to force the quarterback to pass more than he’d like as a part of their defensive game plan. As a result, the fact they only allowed 65 rushing yards on 23 carries (that’s 2.8 yards-per-carry) in Miami, Najee Harris may find himself blocking and catching passes out of the backfield instead of running in between the tackles on Sunday.
Defense: The defense was incredible in Cincinnati. They followed their tried-and-true formula of maintaining pressure on the quarterback to force errant throws and cause turnovers. This led to 5 turnovers including a Minkah Fitzpatrick return for a touchdown. However, they will be without reigning 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year, T.J. Watt for at least the next four games. The Patriots’ offensive line only allowed a pair of sacks against the Dolphins with three hits on second-year quarterback, Mac Jones. Needless to say, the front seven is going to have a tougher challenge this week; specifically, Alex Highsmith and Cam Heyward. That is why I am watching these matchups on Sunday.
The Patriots’ interior offensive line features their 2022 first-round pick of Cole Strange. Heyward is going to be looking to get one-on-one opportunities against the rookie and ‘welcome’ him to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Highsmith will be facing off against Trent Brown, who was a late addition to the injury report with an ankle injury. He’s expected to play, albeit not at 100-percent, and Highsmith is looking to build on his three-sack performance in Week 1.
Steelers' Cam Heyward (#97) gets ready before taking on New England | Credit: Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers
The other matchup I’m watching is Fitzpatrick and the secondary against second-year quarterback, Jones. This is Jones’ first contest against Pittsburgh and we should look for the defense to address that. Not to mention, defensive assistant/linebackers coach Brian Flores spent time on the sideline with Belichick and is helping defensive coordinator, Teryl Austin with the defensive game plan. In Cincinnati, the coverage schemes were fairly split between Austin’s Cover 2 Zone and Flores’ man-on-man. Fitzpatrick is clearly going to play a critical role in the secondary’s execution in slowing an offense that averaged 10 yards-per-reception last week. Plus, with the Patriots’ offensive play-calling still going through their own pains, the Pittsburgh defense should be eager about this matchup.
PREDICTION
Similar to last week, expect a low scoring affair. The Steelers are currently sitting as 2.5-point home underdogs with the point total set at 40.5-points. With that said, here is a fun fact that feeds into my prediction. Since 2016, they are 7-3 as home underdogs with their last loss being in 2019. Prediction, Steelers 20, Patriots 16.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Pittsburgh holds a 16-17 all-time record against the Patriots and Belichick has had their number. Since he became head coach in 2000, Belichick is 9-4 against them and has only lost to Pittsburgh once in the last decade. Further, this will be the first time the two teams have met without future Hall of Famer’s at quarterback. In addition, the last time these two teams have met in the 1:00 EST hour was in December, 1998; the Patriots won, 23-9. Finally, Trubisky is 4-2 all-time against the AFC East, but lost to New England in his only showing against Belichick during his time in Chicago. But in the loss, he threw for over 330 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
What are you watching for on Sunday? What do you think the final outcome will be? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
