Patriots vs. Steelers

                                                                                         

New England -1 vs. Pittsburgh

Things don't seem to be getting any easier for the Steelers, but when you hold the distinction of having to play the NFL's toughest schedule, things tend to not get better. Pittsburgh has weathered the storm quite nicely, however. The Steelers (8-3) are tied for the second best record in the AFC with 8 wins and are still one game in front of Baltimore in the AFC North. The next "big boy" on the Steelers schedule is the New England Patriots.

Pittsburgh will travel to Foxboro, a place where they have not had much success. Their last victory over the Patriots in Massachusetts was in 1997. The Patriots have claimed seven of the last 10 matchups as well, including three straight and six out of the last seven, including postseason play.

Pittsburgh swarmed all over the Bengals at home last week 27-10. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 243 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions against Cincinnati. Big Ben has had a solid season despite being banged up through much of it and missing his first-string running back through a good chunk of the season as well. Roethlisberger has thrown for 2233 yards and 11 touchdowns on the season. Willie Parker, the aforementioned first-string running back has also been hobbled by injuries. He ran for only 37 yards on 15 carries last week and is listed as questionable for the New England game.

Mewelde Moore continues to get the bulk of the carries for Pittsburgh even when Parker is in the lineup. Last week he got the ball 15 times for 56 yards. He will see his carries increase substantially if Parker misses his sixth game of the season.

Matt Cassel continues to improve and impress under center for New England (7-4). In the Patriots 48-28 road victory over the Dolphins, Cassel became only the second New England quarterback to throw for 400 yard in consecutive games, the only other one being Tom Brady. In the last two games, Cassel has completed a combined 60 of his 94 passes for 815 yards, six touchdowns and only one interception.

Cassel will probably not be expecting a third straight 400-yard performance against the Steelers' tough defense.

The last time the Steelers beat the Patriots was in 2004 in Pittsburgh.

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