Sportsnaut
The New England Patriots are coming off a 33-27 victory against the Miami Dolphins and will be looking to raise their record to 2-1 when they face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. Pittsburgh opened its season by beating the New York Jets 34-32, but dropped a 31-17 decision to Seattle last Sunday. New England has won the last three meetings with Pittsburgh, and leads the series 19-16-0. Here are five bold predictions for the Week 3 matchup between the Patriots and Steelers:
1. New England will have a 100-yard rusher
The Steelers have allowed a running back to rush for more than 100 in each of their first two games. New York’s Breece Hall gained 107 yards on 19 carries in Week 1, and Kenneth Walker rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts last week. Overall, Pittsburgh has given up 299 yards on the ground in its two games.
If the Patriots try to pound away at Pittsburgh’s porous run defense, Rhamondre Stevenson is the most likely back to reach 100 yards. Rookie TreVeyon Henderson is another candidate to reach 100 yards if he gets enough touches to create some chunk plays. The Steelers have surrendered a league-high 13 plays of at least 20 yards this season.
2. Linebacker Harold Landry will add to his sack total
Through two games, the Patriots lead the NFL with nine sacks. That’s quite a turnaround from last season, when New England ranked at the bottom of the league with 28 sacks. Landry, who played for Mike Vrabel when both were in Tennessee, was signed to a three-year, $43.5 million contract in March, and so far it looks like money well spent. Landry leads the team with 3.5 sacks. Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been sacked seven times this season.
3. The Patriots will be looking for a new kicker next week
That could be the case if rookie Andy Borregales turns in another performance like he did last week, when he missed two PATs and failed to reach the landing zone on a kickoff, which gave Miami good field position on its final possession. Borregales, who was selected in the sixth round of this year’s NFL Draft, also missed a 40-yard field goal in New England’s 20-13 loss to Las Vegas in Week 1. The Patriots aren’t built to blow teams out. They need a reliable kicker.
4. Win or lose, the Patriots will have the edge in time of possession
There’s some concern that it could be a big day for Rodgers and the Pittsburgh offense since New England has allowed a league-high 677 passing yards in the season’s first two weeks, but New England’s ground attack should allow the Patriots to play keep away – a strategy that might be the best path to victory. New England held the ball for 33 minutes, 45 seconds last week and has had the ball for an average of 31:55 in its two games. Pittsburgh’s average time of...
