Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium – Foxboro, Massachusetts
Thursday, September 10, 2015, 8:30 pm Eastern, TV: NBC
Opening Line: New England -2 1/2
Current Line: New England -7
Opening Total: 50 1/2
Current Total: 52
Opening Money Line: Patriots -127 / Steelers +107
Current Money Line: Patriots -290 / Steelers +230
The defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots open the 2015 season at home against the longtime rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Normally, the opening NFL game is huge any way especially when it involves two Super Bowl contenders who don’t like each other very much. However, the so-called Deflategate scandal and it’s aftermath have created even more buzz for this game.
The details have been well publicized, but just know Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady was initially suspended four games by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for his alleged role. Brady and the NFLPA sued in federal court to get the suspension overturned or at least reduced. Last week, a federal judge overturned the suspension completely. The NFL has promised to appeal but as of now Brady will play on Thursday and until further notice. The line moved from New England -3 to -7 after Brady was reinstated.
Now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the actual game. Pittsburgh is coached by Mike Tomlin. The Steelers went 11-5 last year and won the AFC North Division. However, the Steelers would be upset by the rival Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card playoff game in Pittsburgh. The Steelers went 1-4 in the pre-season this year, and three of the losses were by 11 points or more. The only win was over the Green Bay Packers.
New England is coached by Bill Belichick. The Patriots went 12-4 in the regular season and won the AFC East Division. The Patriots were the #1 seed in the AFC playoffs and had home field advantage. New England beat the Ravens in the Divisional playoffs before crushing the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots would beat the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Arizona. New England cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass in the end zone with 26 seconds left when the Seahawks had second and goal inside the one to seal the victory. The Patriots went 2-2 in the pre-season this year.
Pittsburgh leads the series against New England 14-9 during the regular season, but the Patriots are 3-1 against the Steelers in the playoffs. New England won the last meeting 55-31 in Foxboro in 2013. The Patriots have won 8 of the last 11 meetings.
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Pittsburgh averaged 411 total yards per game on offense last year, including 302 passing and 110 rushing yards. The Steelers averaged 27 points per game. Pittsburgh was #2 in both passing and total offense, and #7 in scoring. The Steelers were even in turnovers.
On defense, Pittsburgh allowed 353 total yards including 253 passing and 100 rushing yards. The Steelers were #6 in rush defense but #27 in pass defense. Pittsburgh allowed 23 points per game last year. Dick LeBeau who had been the defensive coordinator since 2004 left for the same position with the Tennessee Titans. The 77 year old LeBeau has been in the league as a player or coach since 1959. Keith Butler is the new coordinator.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had arguably his best season in a brilliant career last year. He threw for 4,952 yards with 32 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Roethlisberger’s back-up Bruce Gradkowski suffered a broken hand in the pre-season and is out for the season. Pittsburgh signed Michael Vick as his replacement.
Running back LeVeon Bell is suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He rushed for almost 1,400 yards with 8 touchdowns, and also had 83 catches for 854 yards and 3 touchdowns. Pittsburgh signed DeAngelo Williams from the Carolina Panthers in the off-season and he will start until Bell returns. He only played in six games last year for the Panthers because of injury. Dri Archer and Josh Harris will also get some carries.
Receiver Antonio Brown had 129 catches for 1,698 yards and 13 touchdowns last year. Tight end Heath Miller had 66 catches for 761 yards and 3 touchdowns. Markus Wheaton had 53 catches for 644 yards and 2 touchdowns. Receiver Martavis Bryant is suspended for the first 4 games of the season for violating the substance abuse policy. He had 26 catches for 549 yards and 9 touchdowns.
Kickers Garrett Hartley and Shaun Suisham are both out for the season. The Steelers signed veteran Josh Scobee as the new kicker.
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New England averaged 366 total yards on offense, including 258 passing and 108 rushing yards. The Patriots averaged 29 points a game. New England was #9 in passing and #4 in scoring. New England was +12 in turnovers. On defense, the Patriots allowed 344 total yards per game on defense, including 240 passing and 104 rushing yards per game. New England allowed 20 points per game.
Brady threw for 4,109 yards with 33 touchdowns and 9 interceptions last year. Second round pick from 2014 Jimmy Garoppolo was supposed to start in place of Brady had he been suspended, and still could if the league wins their appeal. Garoppolo threw for 182 yards with a touchdown pass last year. Most of his action took place in a game against the Kansas City Chiefs after Brady was benched in a rout by the Chiefs.
There are serious questions at running back for the Patriots. The top four rushers from last year are all either gone from the team or unavailable for week one. New England surprisingly cut leading rusher Jonas Gray during the pre-season. He had 89 carries for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns last year. Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley are both gone due to free agency with the Giants and Jets respectively. LaGarrette Blount is suspended for the first game of the season for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. He had 60 carries for 281 yards and 3 touchdowns. He actually played part of last season with the Steelers last year and was the second leading rusher for Pittsburgh. Look for Brandon Boldin to start Thursday at running back.
Tight end Rob Gronkowski had 82 carries for 1,124 yards and 12 touchdowns. Receiver Julian Edelman had 92 catches for 972 yards and 4 touchdowns. Brandon LaFell is out indefinitely with a broken foot and could possible miss the entire season. He had 74 catches for 953 yards and 7 touchdowns. Danny Amendola had 27 catches for 200 yards and a touchdown. The Patriots signed tight end Scott Chandler from the Bills and receiver Brandon Gibson from the Dolphins.
Both teams are battling suspensions to key players. Neither team looked good in the pre-season, but that doesn’t mean a lot. I think the Patriots win but a touchdown seems like a lot. I can see the Pats winning on a late field goal in what should be a shootout.
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