INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
WHEN THE STEELERS HAVE THE BALL The Pittsburgh offense is rolling. Even though the Steelers scored just 18 points in last week’s win over the Chiefs, they moved the ball well in that game before sputtering in the red zone.
Le’Veon Bell (right) has been a machine, rushing for 170 yards last week with his patented, patient style. The Patriots are no pushovers, though. The offense gets most of the attention, but New England finished first in the NFL in points allowed this season (15.6) and was third against the run, allowing 88.6 yards per game. Edge: Steelers. WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL
This will be an interesting matchup. The Patriots are the Patriots. Tom Brady (right), Julian Edelman, LeGarrette Blount,
Dion Lewis, Chris Hogan and Martellus Bennett can all make plays. New England had the fourth best offense in the NFL by yardage this year (386.2 yards/game) and third in scoring (27.6 points per game). The Steelers’ defense overcame some early struggles and came together toward the end of the year. They have given up just 12 points and 16 points in their two playoff games. Brady could pick on two rookies in the secondary — cornerback Artie Burns and safety Sean
Davis. Edge: Patriots SPECIAL TEAMS The Steelers were very cautious kicking to Chiefs returner Tyreek Hill last week. They may have to apply the same caution to Lewis this week. Lewis broke a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the Patriots’ win over the Texans last week, showing what he is capable of. He did have a fumble on a kickoff later in the game, so it was not a completely successful night. Both teams have good coverage teams that will make special teams yards hard. If it comes down to the kickers, both Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell and New England’s Stephen Gostkowski made 84 percent of their field-goal attempts this year. Gostkowski missed three extra points this year, and one big one last year in their AFC title game loss. Edge: Patriots. COACHING When you get a matchup of two coaches who already have Super Bowl rings, you know it is a good one. Bill Belichick has done a masterful job this season. He overcame the four-game suspension to Brady. He managed to field one of his best defenses in years despite trading away two key pieces — Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. Mike Tomlin’s deft touch was on display this week with how he handled the Antonio Brown Facebook situation. There are some good coordinators on these teams, too — Josh McDaniels and Matt Patricia for the Patriots and Todd Haley and Keith Butler for the Steelers. Edge: Patriots.