Written by Robert Henry
The AFC Championship game is set to take place on Sunday, January 22, 2017, in stunning Foxborough Massachusetts, the New England Patriots, will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. This is the fifth time that these two teams have met each other in the postseason and the third time in a row that will occur in the AFC Championship Game. New England leads the Steelers in this series with three wins out of the four games. The Steelers do lead the all-time series at 15-14, which includes the playoffs. The AFC Championship will be a battle between two great teams who have fought hard to be in this important playoff game.
The Patriots are fourth in the league in passing with 269.2 yards per game and will be going up against the Steelers defense, which is 16th in pass defense. This is a big difference between the two respected football teams. Although there is a big difference, we saw the Texans last week shake up Tom Brady and forced two interceptions in one game. Before that Brady had only thrown two interceptions all season long. The Steelers defense has been somewhat decent this past year but has been improving as the regular season went on. Brady should not worry too much considering he has wideouts Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola, as well as tight end Martellus Bennett and running back James White. Brady just has too many weapons at his disposal to make big plays, and the Steelers will have to step up their defense come Sunday. While Brady may have targets to move the ball, his offensive line needs to hold the Steelers at bay or Brady will be rushed and is more likely to make mistakes.
With LaGarrette Blount and White in the backfield the Patriots have been able to keep things moving on the ground, but as the season has gone on their rushing seems to have lost its momentum. Pittsburgh will have to do better than the Texans, who were able to keep the Patriots to 4.2 yards a carry. If the Steelers can take a yard or two off of this, we could see more risky plays from Brady. Le’Veon Bell averaged 3.9 yards against New England this year and will have to ramp up his production if he wants to keep his 100+ yard streak. Bell rushed 21 times for 81 yards, also with ten receptions for 68 yards earlier this year against the Patriots. If Bell can rush for 113 yards on Sunday, he would become the fifth player in NFL history with at least 450 yards rushing yards in a single postseason.
New England will have to try to stop Bell while not focusing on the run too much in case Ben Roethlisberger decides to air it out to Antonio Brown. Roethlisberger is playing in his fifth AFC Championship Game and has won 13 of his last 19 career postseason starts. Roethlisberger completed 20 of his 31 passes for 224 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs. Surprisingly he was unable to connect with anyone in the end zone against the Chiefs. Brown caught six of his 11 targets and racked up 108 yards last weekend. If Brown and Roethlisberger can connect like they did last week, but in the end zone, the Patriots defense will be in trouble. Brown will likely be guarded by cornerback Malcolm Butler, whom Brown has had great success in the past against. This matchup could possibly be the most important one to watch when Pittsburgh is on offense.
Sunday the Lamar Hunt Trophy will be in the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. Both teams have had to battle through their respective divisions to get to this point and what a better stage to see this rivalry. If the Patriots win, this would be Bill Belichick’s seventh Super Bowl appearance, surpassing the great Don Shula. If the Steelers win, this would be Mike Tomlin’s third Super Bowl as head coach with the Steelers. Both teams are looking at a tough game between two of the best teams in the NFL, and a lot is on the line. Whoever wins will be the new AFC Champion and has a shot at being the Super Bowl Champions.
The Patriots are fourth in the league in passing with 269.2 yards per game and will be going up against the Steelers defense, which is 16th in pass defense. This is a big difference between the two respected football teams. Although there is a big difference, we saw the Texans last week shake up Tom Brady and forced two interceptions in one game. Before that Brady had only thrown two interceptions all season long. The Steelers defense has been somewhat decent this past year but has been improving as the regular season went on. Brady should not worry too much considering he has wideouts Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan and Danny Amendola, as well as tight end Martellus Bennett and running back James White. Brady just has too many weapons at his disposal to make big plays, and the Steelers will have to step up their defense come Sunday. While Brady may have targets to move the ball, his offensive line needs to hold the Steelers at bay or Brady will be rushed and is more likely to make mistakes.
With LaGarrette Blount and White in the backfield the Patriots have been able to keep things moving on the ground, but as the season has gone on their rushing seems to have lost its momentum. Pittsburgh will have to do better than the Texans, who were able to keep the Patriots to 4.2 yards a carry. If the Steelers can take a yard or two off of this, we could see more risky plays from Brady. Le’Veon Bell averaged 3.9 yards against New England this year and will have to ramp up his production if he wants to keep his 100+ yard streak. Bell rushed 21 times for 81 yards, also with ten receptions for 68 yards earlier this year against the Patriots. If Bell can rush for 113 yards on Sunday, he would become the fifth player in NFL history with at least 450 yards rushing yards in a single postseason.
New England will have to try to stop Bell while not focusing on the run too much in case Ben Roethlisberger decides to air it out to Antonio Brown. Roethlisberger is playing in his fifth AFC Championship Game and has won 13 of his last 19 career postseason starts. Roethlisberger completed 20 of his 31 passes for 224 yards against the Kansas City Chiefs. Surprisingly he was unable to connect with anyone in the end zone against the Chiefs. Brown caught six of his 11 targets and racked up 108 yards last weekend. If Brown and Roethlisberger can connect like they did last week, but in the end zone, the Patriots defense will be in trouble. Brown will likely be guarded by cornerback Malcolm Butler, whom Brown has had great success in the past against. This matchup could possibly be the most important one to watch when Pittsburgh is on offense.
Sunday the Lamar Hunt Trophy will be in the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers or the New England Patriots. Both teams have had to battle through their respective divisions to get to this point and what a better stage to see this rivalry. If the Patriots win, this would be Bill Belichick’s seventh Super Bowl appearance, surpassing the great Don Shula. If the Steelers win, this would be Mike Tomlin’s third Super Bowl as head coach with the Steelers. Both teams are looking at a tough game between two of the best teams in the NFL, and a lot is on the line. Whoever wins will be the new AFC Champion and has a shot at being the Super Bowl Champions.