Steelers can beat Patriots without Big Ben
A quick preview as Week 7 rolls on in the NFL.
Pressure’s on: Landry Jones. As if trying to fill the shoes of injured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t enough, there’s the matter of outdueling Tom Brady. With the Patriots secondary weakened, there’s a window of opportunity for a Steelers offense that is so explosive. Jones, making his third pro start, will be surrounded by ample weapons. But he had better connect with Antonio Brown, who has never caught a touchdown pass from anyone other than Big Ben. The Steelers pass defense ranks 30th in the NFL. And now comes Brady.
Who’s hot: Sam Bradford. Consider his changing fortunes. In May, Bradford saw the writing on the wall as the Eagles drafted their quarterback of the future. Now he heads back to Philadelphia as quarterback of the NFL’s only undefeated team, completing an NFL- best 70% of his passes ( among qualifiers who don’t include Brady). And knock on wood: The 2010 No. 1 overall pick whose career was derailed twice by torn anterior cruciate ligaments with the Rams has remained healthy. Funny how things can happen. If Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t suffer a gruesome knee injury during the preseason, Bradford is never traded from the Eagles to the Vikings ( 5- 0) and Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz might not be a rookie of the year candidate. Bradford, so miffed when Wentz was picked that he demanded a trade and skipped a few days of offseason work, is the central figure in several reunions this weekend. Others include Jack Del Rio, who takes his Raiders to Jacksonville, where he had his first head coaching gig; Hue Jackson, who searches for his first win as Browns coach at Cincinnati, where he was offensive coordinator the last two years; and Brock Osweiler, the new Texans quarterback, who goes back to Denver, where he had an imprint on a Super Bowl 50 title run by filling in for injured Peyton Manning. Key matchup: Brian Orakpo vs. Anthony Castonzo. Andrew Luck has been sacked ( 23 times), hit ( 47) and pressured ( 36% of
passes) more than any other quarterback in the NFL. Now he leads the Colts to Tennessee, where Dick LeBeau has a defense that has been crushing quarterbacks lately, with 12 sacks the last two games. Orakpo is the ringleader, with his seven sacks ranked third in the NFL. Castonzo, meanwhile, is the blindside protector who has the type of struggles that prompt questions about his confidence level.
Next man up: Geno Smith. With Ryan Fitzpatrick heaving an NFL- high 11 interceptions for the floundering Jets ( 1- 5), the door was opened for Smith to finally seize the starting role that he lost last year when he suffered a broken jaw from a sucker punch by then- teammate IK Enemkpali in the locker room. So he has the job back that he won in a competition against Fitzpatrick before the crazy stuff of last year. Yet the circumstances under which Smith takes the reins for Sunday’s game against the Ravens are hardly ideal. The Jets have lost four in a row and are scoring an NFL-low 15.8 points per game. Key target Eric Decker is lost for the season. Matt Forte is averaging a career- low 3.5 yards per carry as the rushing attack has tanked. Amid all that, Smith gets to show whether he has progressed from the inconstant thrower who has averaged a career completion rate of 57.9%.
Stomach for an upset: Seahawks at Cardinals. After a 1- 3 start, Bruce Arians’ Arizona team has climbed back to .500 but is still desperate. A victory at home Sunday night would cut Seattle’s lead in the NFC West to one game. Then again, a Seattle win would be only a mild upset. The Seahawks have won three consecutive against Arizona and return with their offense hitting its stride after sputtering the first two games.