As the New England Patriots prepare for their Week 7 road game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, here are some story lines heading into the match up.

No Big Ben- The Pats are catching a huge break, as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a torn meniscus in the team's loss to the Miami Dolphins last week and has been ruled out for the game this Sunday. With Roethlisberger under center the Steelers offense is obviously a much more formidable unit than it is with backup Landry Jones taking the snaps. The loss of Roethlisberger should allow the Patriots defense to key in on other areas of the offense that could present a problem during the game.

Silencing The Bell- With Roethlisberger sidelined for Sunday and Jones now under center, the vaunted Pittsburgh passing attack becomes a little less concerning for the Patriots defense. While that may be the case, the Steelers offense is still dangerous thanks in large part to the abilities of their top running back Le'Veon Bell. After missing the first three games of the season, due to a drug suspension, Bell has come back and taken over. Through just three games, the multi-purpose back has carried the ball 48 times for 263 yards, which breaks down to a 5.5 yards per carry average. He has also become the team's second leading receiver, catching 20 passes for 177 yards. With Bell's ability to make plays both rushing and in the passing game, he becomes the New England defense's biggest issue. Like the Pats normally do, look for them to hone in on Pittsburgh's biggest weapon and game plan to contain Bell. If the New England front seven can contain the edges, keep Bell inside the tackles and wrap up they should be set up well to win. The defense's biggest test, however, might be limiting Bell in the passing game, where he has shown he can succeed. With Jones, who has a lower ceiling than Roethlisberger, in the game, the Pats should expect Bell to factor in to the passing game even more than usual. If New England's linebackers, ends and secondary can't find a way to bottle up the shifty speedster in open space, it could be a long night for the defense.

Brown Watch- While Bell might present the biggest problem for the New England defense, given the Pittsburgh quarterback situation, the Pats can not sleep on All-Pro wide out Antonio Brown. In fact, if Roethlisberger was healthy, Brown probably is considered the Pats biggest headache. As per usual, the wide out has been dominating so far this season, tallying 41 catches for 486 yards and five scores through six weeks. Look for the Patriots to offer help all day to whichever one of Malcolm Butler or Logan Ryan lines up against Brown throughout the game. Also, expect the New England defense to play a similar style of zone coverage that they have through most of the season so far. By playing off the wide outs, they will allow plays to be converted underneath the coverage, but stay away from the possibility of big plays being made. With a guy as talented as Brown in the passing attack, playing off of him and limiting his opportunities to burn one-on-one coverage seems to be the best option for the Pats defense to keep the Steelers off the scoreboard.

Putting Up Points- With the New England offense relatively healthy and all of Tom Brady's top targets at his disposal, the Pats should have no problem putting points on the board, Sunday. Coming off of back-to-back 30 plus point beatings of AFC North opponents, the Pats have shown that with Brady back they can be lethal. In fact, since Brady has returned to the team he has completed 76 percent of his passes for 782 yards, six touchdowns and zero turnovers. The future Hall-of-Famer has also compiled an astounding 135.5 quarterback passer rating through his first two games of the season. The team has also averaged 469 yards of total offense and has converted on seven of 10 red zone trips over that span. While one of the two games came against the lowly Cleveland Browns, there is no disputing that this Patriots offense is a threat to any defense.

Unstoppable Duo- Along with the return of Brady, two weeks ago, came the birth of a dynamic tight end duo for New England. All-Pro Rob Gronkowski had missed the team's first few couple of games due to injury and had been sparingly used prior to Brady's return. Once the superstar quarterback returned, however, the team unleashed Gronkowski  and his newest running mate at the tight end position, Martellus Bennett. Over the two games since being at full strength, the duo have combined to catch 23 of 29 passes sent their way for 386 yards and four scores. Quite Simply, the duo have proven to be unstoppable so far. Look for them to keep rolling this week, against a less that all-star caliber defense.

A Little Banged Up, Up Front- Pittsburgh will enter the game somewhat shorthanded, without top defensive lineman Cameron Heyward to help add pressure on Brady. They are getting back top linebacker Ryan Shazier for the first time since the third game of the season, but it will be interesting to see if the top tackler can make a difference in his first game back from a knee injury. Combining those factors with the talent the Patriots offense boasts, it isn't surprising that the Pats are expected to score a lot on Sunday.

Challenged Depth- One area for concern, for the New England defense, is the depth or lack thereof at the linebacker position. Last week, the Pats entered their game against the Cincinnati Bengals without starting linebacker Jamie Collins (hip) and backups Shea McClellin (concussion) and Jonathan Freeny (IR). During the game, rookie backup Elandon Roberts, who started in place of Collins, suffered an ankle injury that took him off the field for a brief time. Although Roberts returned later in the game, he has been limited in practice this week and is officially listed as questionable along with Collins and McClellin. With only starter Dont'a Hightower and reserve Barkevious Mingo, who gets most of his reps on special teams, truly healthy, the Pats are thin at a position that could play a large role in the game plan. With Bell being such a factor in the running and short passing game, having healthy and skilled linebackers on the field could really help New England limit the Pittsburgh attack.

Prediction- If Roethlisberger was healthy for this game, it might have gone down as one of the top battles of the season, in the entire league. Both teams boast tough-to-stop, diverse offenses when healthy, but with Pittsburgh's offense left without it's quarterback and New England's completely in tact, expect just one of the two teams to produce an output usually expected. Brady and his dominant tight end duo have yet to be slowed and this week shouldn't be the start of any slip ups. Look for the Pats to go for a season high in points. Pittsburgh shouldn't be completely inept on offense with the likes of Brown and Bell, but there's no reason to believe Jones and company can match the prolific attack New England should dispense.

Patriots- 45, Steelers- 17 

 

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