Defending Steelers is now a puzzle
When these teams previously met, in the AFC championship, the focus on trying to stop the Steelers was entirely different for Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
His biggest concern was Le’Veon Bell, primarily because of the way the Steelers were riding their All-Pro running back in playoff victories against Miami and Kansas City.
Bell carried 59 times for a team-record 337 yards — 167 against the Dolphins, 170 against the Chiefs — in the two games leading up to the meeting against the Patriots. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger attempted only 48 passes for 421 yards in those two games
It’s a little different heading into a showdown Sunday at Heinz Field.
Bell’s role as a running back has been drastically curtailed from what it was then, even what it was earlier this season. He has carried 63 times for 265 yards in the past four games — his fewest attempts in a four-game span in his five-year career — and hasn’t rushed for more than 100 yards in a game in nearly two months.
Conversely, Roethlisberger’s pass attempts in that same period — 196, an average of nearly 50 a game — are the most in a four-game span in his 14-year career. He is averaging 361.5 yards and three touchdowns per game in the past four outings. More important, the Steelers are averaging 33.3 points in that span.
What’s more, the Steelers have two receivers — Martavis Bryant and rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster — who weren’t on the roster last season, either.
“They’re all good,” Belichick said on a conference call. “You can add a lot of other guys to that list. It’s not about stopping one guy, you got to stop the entire offense. You can include the offensive line. They’re very good.”
Belichick, of course, didn’t have to worry about Bell too much in the previouos meeting. He had only six carries for 20 yards before leaving the game in the first quarter for good with a festering groin injury.
According to Belichick he has to worry about all three of the Steelers’ offensive stars — Bell, Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, who leads the NFL in receptions (99) and receiving yards (1,509) and the AFC in touchdown catches (9). But maybe especially Roethlisberger.
“They excel every weekend, even though everyone knows they’re the best guys and they’re targeted in the run game and passing game,” Belichick said. “When you get that kind of attention and continue to have that extraordinary production that all three of those players have, it’s so unusual to have players of that caliber all on the same team.”
But, if the Steelers want to set a pace against the Patriots and make Brady play from behind, they will have to do it the way they’ve been doing it for the past month — attacking with Roethlisberger.
While safety Patrick Chung plays more like a linebacker and is typically responsible for the tight end, the key for Roethlisberger will be watching the other safety, Devin McCourty, to see how he slides to help on Brown.
In the past three games, the Patriots have used cornerback Malcolm Butler to follow Brown, though with modest success. Brown has 22 catches for 307 yards in those games. But the Patriots also brought in cornerback Stephon Gilmore in free agency this season, a player who was assigned to follow Brown when he was with the Buffalo Bills.
“It’s more about McCourty,” Roethlisberger said. “He shows what they do, he’s their double guy, he’s the one who will double A.B. He will show what they’re going to do.”