Pats All Folks: The 205683th Patriots vs Steelers Preview
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by Trizz
Once again an almost-victory got everyone's hopes up. The New England Patriots have looked merely mortal the past two weeks and instead of people acknowledging that the Patriots simply know how to win the close games, they simply think the Patriots are one good punch away from falling down and who will deliver that final blow the Steelers, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins or New York Giants or will the round end and the Patriots get a second wind in the playoffs.
First up are the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have historically been the Patriots thorn in the side. They ended the Patriots 21 game win streak on Halloween 2004 and they were the first AFC team to win the Super Bowl since the Patriot dynasty begun in 2001. The Steelers have been one to rain to on the Patriots parade as of late but this goes beyond David and Goliath, this game has plenty of playoff implications that a lot of people seem to overlook.
The Steelers can win the AFC North with a win over New England coupled with a Cleveland Browns loss, while they can secure at least a playoff spot with a win and a Tennessee Titans loss while the Patriots can clinch a first-round bye with a win, and will lock up home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs with a win and a Colts loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Patriots clinched a playoff berth 2 weeks ago.
Steelers DB Anthony Smith first made headlines when he guaranteed a victory over the juggernaut and the Patriots did as always, shrugged it off and ate some more humble pie. While the Patriots may be coming off a roller coaster 3 weeks, the Steelers have been as well. While the Patriots completely destroyed Buffalo in Week 11, the Steelers were upset by the New York Jets. The Patriots survived a scare by the Eagles and the Steelers survived one by the Dolphins in an ugly 3-0 shutout. Last week the Patriots squeaked by fellow division rival Baltimore and the Steelers made light work of the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Patriots achilles heel as I have continued to state since I started these beat reports has been the run but thats hard to do when your down by 27. The Steelers have a huge run threat in Willie Parker, but has had a sub-par season as some fantasy owners may already know. The reason the Patriots survived the past two weeks has been the clutch play of Brady and the lack of it by their counterparts. AJ Feeley and Kyle Boller both had decent games until the fourth quarter,then they made that critical error that gave the game away. Even Peyton Manning made a game clinching mistake in Week 9, so its not a guarentee that Ben Roethlisberger will not do the same.
In order for the Patriots to win in my opinion, they need to run the clock. Go back to their 2003-2004 days where short screen passes ruled the day, scoring in under 2 minutes while it makes commentators fall in love with Brady, it also doesn't give a defense full of 30-somethings the rest they need, let Maroney take over this one. Patriots 34 Steelers 21
