Patriots at Steelers
THE STORY: The New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers have combined to win five of the last 10 Super Bowls and are looking like two of the top teams again this season. After a sluggish start, the Steelers have won three straight games to take control of the hotly contested AFC North. The Patriots are occupying their familiar perch at the top of the AFC East and have had a bye week to get healthy and prepare for Pittsburgh. While Tom Brady has been brilliant at times through New England’s first six games, he will have to face a secondary that is leading the NFL in passing yardage, surrendering a tiny 171.9 yards on average. The talk of its aging defense quieted for the moment, Pittsburgh will be looking to gain an edge in the conference standings when it hosts the Patriots on Sunday.
TV: CBS, 4:15 p.m. ET. LINE: Patriots -3, O/U 52.5
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (5-1): New England had its streak of 13 straight games scoring at least 30 points snapped before the bye but were treated to a vintage Tom Brady performance in a 20-16, come-from-behind win over the Dallas Cowboys. More notable may have been the performance of the defense, which has looked stronger in three straight games after beginning the season in historically bad fashion. That defense is still without linebacker Jerod Mayo, who has missed the last two weeks and is questionable again for Sunday with a knee injury.
ABOUT THE STEELERS (5-2): Pittsburgh is coming off a 32-20 victory at Arizona. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns, including a 95-yard hookup with Mike Wallace that set a record for the longest pass reception in Steelers history. Roethlisberger has nine touchdowns against one interception in the last three contests. Pittsburgh trails only the Patriots in the AFC in winning percentage.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. With one more win, Brady and Bill Belichick will pass Dan Marino and Don Shula for the most wins in NFL history by a quarterback-coach combination. They are currently tied at 116 victories.
2. The Patriots have taken three of the last four meetings, including a 39-26 win last November in which Brady passed for 350 yards and three touchdowns.
3. Wallace has receptions of 40 yards or more in six straight games, the longest such streak in the NFL since Isaac Bruce in 2000.