At the midway point of the 2010 NFL season, both the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots sit at 6-2 and in complete control of their destiny. After Sunday night, only of the two powerhouses will be able to say that. The Steelers are back at home after three consecutive road games. However, they've had a short week of rest and preparation having played on Monday Night Football this past week. New England meanwhile is fuming after being annihilated by the Cleveland Browns. The Patriots were outplayed in all three phases of the game, as well as out-coached. That typically doesn't happen two weeks in a row to Bill Belichik coached teams, so expect the Steelers to get the Pats' best shot Sunday night.
Let's get the preview coverage started with a few notes on the teams' series history, as well as up-to-date season stats for both squads.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (6-2) AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS (6-2)
SERIES
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PATRIOTS |
STEELERS |
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SERIES LEADER |
13-7 |
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STREAKS |
4 of past 6 overall |
6 of past 8 at home |
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COACHES VS. OPP. |
Belichick: 8-8 |
Tomlin: 1-1 |
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LAST WEEK |
L 34-14 at Browns |
W 27-21 at Bengals |
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LAST GAME |
11/30/08: Steelers 33 at Patriots 10. Pittsburgh RBs Willie Parker (87) & Mewelde Moore (67) combine for 154 rushing yards & QB Ben Roethlisberger passes for 2 TDs (19, 11). |
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LAST GAME AT SITE |
9/25/05: Patriots 23, Steelers 20. New England's Adam Vinatieri kicks 43-yard FG with 1 second remaining as Pats snap Roethlisberger's 15-game regular-season win streak. |
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BROADCAST |
NBC (8:20 PM ET): Al Michaels, Cris Collinsworth, Andrea Kremer (Field reporter). Westwood One Radio: Dave Sims, James Lofton, Scott Kaplan (Field reporter). SIRIUS: 127 (WW1), 125 (NE), 126 (Pit.). XM: 104 (WW1), 102 (NE), 103 (Pit.). |
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STATS
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PASSING |
Brady: 166-261-1,826-14 (T3C)-4-95.7 |
Roethlisberger: 69-109-917-6-3-96.8 |
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RUSHING |
Green-Ellis: 94-385-4.1-6 |
Mendenhall: 168-702-4.2-7 (T3L) |
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RECEIVING |
Welker: 44-355-8.1-3 |
Ward: 30-375-12.5-4 |
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OFFENSE |
324.4 |
299.6 |
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TAKE/GIVE |
+5 |
+9 (T1L) |
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DEFENSE |
386.5 |
298.3 (2C) |
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SACKS |
Wright: 4 |
Harrison: 7 (T3C) |
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INTs |
3 tied: 2 |
3 tied: 2 |
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PUNTING |
Mesko (R): 43.5 |
Sepulveda: 46.1 (3C) |
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KICKING |
Gostkowski: 56 (26/26 PAT; 10/13 FG) |
Reed: 60 (18/18 PAT; 14/20 FG) |