The AFC's two powerhouses meet Sunday, with the Super Bowl champion Patriots traveling to Pittsburgh in a game that should determine which team ends up with the No. 1 seed in the conference.
These two elite organizations have met many times over the years, with New England winning a high percentage of the time. Sunday's game is obviously important, and it could also be the first of two meetings between Pittsburgh and New England before a potential playoff matchup in January. Here's the Tale of the Tape:
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger began this season very rocky. But since the second half of Pittsburgh's Week 10 game in Indianapolis, he's been outstanding.
Roethlisberger has balanced taking what the defense gives him with featuring Antonio Brown, and looks to be in total command of the offense. Coming off his best performance of the year against Baltimore, he's averaging 361.5 yards per game over his last four contests while throwing 12 touchdowns to just three interceptions in that span. He's hot, and Pittsburgh is taking advantage by throwing the ball a high percentage of the time.
However, Tom Brady has always tortured the Steelers, and his career numbers against Pittsburgh's defense - highlighted by throwing 19 touchdowns to zero interceptions - are mind-boggling. Brady is coming off a down performance by anyone's standards in Miami on Monday night and has taken more punishment than usual this year. That said, he should be the NFL MVP and has the edge without question.
Advantage: New England
Running Backs
Le'Veon Bell leads the NFL in rushing yards and is the best running back in football. But the Patriots average 13.5 more yards on the ground than the Steelers, while averaging a half-yard more per carry. Their two-headed attack of Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis has been outstanding of late.
The Steelers have one of the best offensive lines in the league, but have been much better in pass protection than paving the way for Bell this season. Meanwhile, New England's blockers might not be recognizable names, but they've been superb in the run game. This is a close call, but New England's collective gets the narrow nod over Bell. Don't be surprised if Bell, Burkhead, and Lewis all put up impressive numbers this week.
Advantage: New England
Receivers
Rob Gronkowski and JuJu Smith-Schuster will both return from suspension and should have a little extra spring in their steps for this big matchup.
Brandin Cooks has been a threatening-yet-inconsistent acquisition for New England and provides a ton of big-play ability, but he can also get pushed around. Cooks could get behind a Steelers secondary that's allowed far too many long plays of late, but he's also coming off a poor showing in Miami. Chris Hogan returned from injury last week, but didn’t look at all like himself.
Of course, the Patriots' running backs are collectively fantastic at contributing in the passing game, too.
Meanwhile, Brown is still the No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL. It's hard to believe, but he may actually be playing the best football of his life right now. Brown has nearly 300 more receiving yards than the next best, DeAndre Hopkins.
Martavis Bryant, Smith-Schuster, and Jesse James are also quality options who often see single coverage, but it's Bell and Brown who make this group so difficult to defend. Pittsburgh has the best receiving weapons in the league.
Advantage: Pittsburgh
Offensive Line
As mentioned, Pittsburgh's big men up front are better in protection than in the running game. That said, they're almost assuredly the best protecting line in the entire league. Pittsburgh is missing Marcus Gilbert (suspension), but has star power in Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro, who might be the best guard in football right now.
Both of these lines are extremely well coached. The Patriots' best player up front is Shaq Mason, but this unit allowed a lot of interior pressure last week.
Advantage: Pittsburgh
Defensive Front Seven
The loss of Ryan Shazier cannot be overstated and Brady should be licking his chops at the thought of attacking the Steelers' inside linebackers without him.
T.J. Watt looks to have a bright future, but Pittsburgh is getting very little pass rush from the edge. Baltimore gashed the Steelers on the ground last week, but Pittsburgh still features an exceptional defensive line. Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are excellent players who could provide the interior pressure that Brady so dislikes.
The Patriots are really lacking talent in their front seven. They play well together as a unit and there are some run-cloggers in the middle of the defensive line, but this is one of the worst pass-rushing units in football.
Advantage: Pittsburgh
Secondary
The Steelers have allowed a ton of big plays since Joe Haden went down with injury, as the cornerback and safety performances have been far from optimal. The opposite is true for the Patriots. As usual, this is one of the best red-zone defenses in football and their secondary has high-quality assets in Devin McCourty, Malcolm Butler, and Stephon Gilmore.
Gilmore is playing far better now than early in the year. Butler will most likely draw the assignment of slowing down Brown and will get help in doing so. Expect the Patriots to play a high percentage of man coverage. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has played an extremely zone-heavy defense this year.
Advantage: New England
Special Teams
Kicker Chris Boswell is a major reason why the Steelers have just two losses on the season. And while Heinz Field is the most difficult stadium to kick in across the NFL, Stephen Gostkowski is also a proven 12-year veteran and should be fine.
The Steelers have made a change with their kickoff returner, inserting Bryant into that role. Bryant has brought some big-play appeal (while Brown can be lethal as a punt returner), but also looked confused fielding short Justin Tucker kickoffs last week.
New England loves to kick off into the field of play rather than just blasting it into the end zone. Bryant could make the Patriots pay for that or could cripple Pittsburgh’s starting field position with mistakes. Lastly, year after year under Bill Belichick, the Patriots have ranked among the best teams in football in this phase of the game. That remains true in 2017.
Advantage: New England
Coaching/Intangibles
As mentioned, this matchup almost always ends up with New England on top. But Pittsburgh is still a very difficult place to play, and the Steelers perform better at home. Clearly, Pittsburgh wants to avoid traveling to New England in the AFC Championship Game by taking Sunday's contest.
But the Patriots are not going to be fazed by their surroundings, and while Mike Tomlin is one of the best in the business, Belichick is the best in the business - and maybe in the history of the sport. New England wins this category against every team in the NFL.
Advantage: New England
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
