The New England Patriots are set to travel to Acrisure Stadium to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a week two matchup. Both teams are coming off of games against division rivals. The Patriots played against the Miami Dolphins while the Steelers played the Cincinnati Bengals. Both the Patriots and Steelers will be fighting for wild card spots this season, and this game could end up having some big impacts on seeding later on in the year.
New England Patriots Look to Get Things Back On Track After Week One Loss
The New England Patriots are coming off of a tough divisional loss against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins played their first game with superstar wide receiver Tyreek Hil, and he made his presence felt. Along with this, he opened up the rest of the offense for the Dolphins and made it a very difficult day for the Patriots’ defensive unit.
This will have a much easier task this week in the Pittsburgh Steelers. It appears that Najee Harris will be unable to play this week after he suffered an injury in week one against the Cincinnati Bengals. Coming into the season, Harris was expected to be the focal point of the offense for Pittsburgh. Without him, they are left with a very subpar passing game and almost no rushing presence in their offense. This will be a perfect game for the Patriots’ defense to regroup and get back on track after week one.
On the offensive side of the ball, New England may have another tough week in front of them. The Steelers made the elite Cincinnati Bengals’ offense look like a shell of themselves in week one. If this is a trend that continues into week two, it could mean bad things for Mac Jones and the offense. It will be unlikely New England will be able to get much of a rushing game going against the Steelers’ elite edge rushers.
Pittsburgh Steelers Hope to Continue Hot Streak From Week One Win
The Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the opening week of the NFL regular season. They were able to take down the Bengals in overtime by a final score of 23-20. Pittsburgh’s defense really stepped up and controlled the game to make life easy for the offense. This is something that will have to continue to happen as the season progresses.
On the offensive side of the ball, Pittsburgh will be hard-pressed to find a way to replace what Harris brings to the offense. Their passing game will likely become the reluctant centerpiece of the offensive scheme. If it is determined that Harris will miss a substantial amount of time, Pittsburgh may bring in rookie Kenny Pickett to become the starter earlier than expected to give him more experience in his first year.
The defensive unit of the Steelers will once again have to carry the team if they want a chance to win this game. With the offense being a man down, they will have to shut down Mac Jones and the Patriots’ passing game. With star outside linebacker T.J. Watt sidelined with a torn pec, the defense will have to find a new leader to carry the unit.
This will be a very difficult game for the Steelers to win with both Harris and Watt sidelined with injuries. They will need everyone to really step up their game to compete with a team like the Patriots. Although many are already counting them out, the Steelers are already used to being underdogs this season and have been able to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the year already.
