One of the New England Patriots’ most anticipated games of the season became considerably less interesting when Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a knee injury and subsequently underwent surgery this week.
Roethlisberger is out of the Steelers’ Week 7 matchup with the Patriots, meaning Landry Jones will get the start. He’s 32 of 56 for 513 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions in his four-year career with a 1-1 starting record.
The 5-1 Patriots are heavily favored in their road matchup with the 4-2 Steelers. That likely wouldn’t have been the case if Roethlisberger was healthy.
Here’s how the Patriots can ensure victory.
DEFEND DEEP BALL
Steelers receivers Antonio Brown and Sammie Coates both are threats to take the top off of the defense on any given play.
Brown, who’s one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, has four catches for 114 yards with three touchdowns on throws of more than 20 yards. He has 15 more receptions for 246 yards on intermediate throws of 11 to 20 yards.
Coates, who’s 6-foot-1, 212 pounds and ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash coming out of Auburn last year, has six catches for 299 yards with one touchdown on throws of more than 20 yards. He has one catch for 44 yards on intermediate throws. He’s also had a major issue with drops this season.
The Patriots will need to protect against the deep ball despite the Steelers’ QB situation.
That means we could see a decent amount of Duron Harmon in the Patriots’ defense. He shares deep responsibilities with Devin McCourty in the Patriots’ secondary.
It’s likely Malcolm Butler will cover Brown, as he did in 2015. That means Logan Ryan likely will cover Coates in two-receiver sets. Ryan could move over to cover slot receiver Eli Rogers in three-receiver sets, leaving Eric Rowe on Coates.
The Patriots are the only team in the NFL who haven’t allowed a reception of 40 yards or more. The Steelers rank third in the NFL with six passing plays of 40 yards or more.
START FAST
The Steelers should be able to score, despite Jones being at quarterback, because of their multitude of weapons. They might not be able to mount a comeback if the Patriots get out to a hot start, however.
The Patriots would be smart to unleash their two-tight end offense early. If the Steelers are focusing too much attention on Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan and running back James White should be able to do some damage.
STACK THE LINE
The Steelers’ offense presents issues because they have a deep passing game and perhaps the best, most versatile running back in the NFL in Le’Veon Bell.
Expect to see three big men up front in the Patriots’ base defense. Malcom Browns and Alan Branch are sure things to be in the Patriots’ front seven. The Patriots also should mix in Vincent Valentine (back) and Woodrow Hamilton (shoulder), if healthy and active, to beef up the front four.
If the Patriots go heavy on the line, it will put more pressure on their linebackers and edge defenders to pressure the passer. We could see a solid amount of Chris Long and Rob Ninkovich at outside linebacker. The Patriots could elect to go with a 3-4 alignment or hybrid 4-3 to accommodate the extra big men.
Thumbnail photo via Stew Milne/USA TODAY Sports Images
