Steelers QB Mitch Trubisky Plans To Have Aggressive Offense Vs. Patriots

The Pittsburgh Steelers are getting set to host the New England Patriots at Acrisure Stadium for a primetime matchup on Thursday night.

With Kenny Pickett sidelined with an ankle injury, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin opted to go with Mitch Trubisky as the starter against the Patriots in the Week 14 matchup.

Trubisky, 29, is looking to bounce back from last week's loss to the Arizona Cardinals, where he completed 11 of 17 passes for 117 yards and one touchdown.

"We're trying to score points," Trubisky said, per the team. "I'm going to be aggressive. I'm going to take care of the football, and we've got to play better as an offense. We're going against a good defense this week that is well-coached. We've got to do our job and execute."

Although the Patriots are an abysmal 2-10 this season, Trubisky doesn't believe the Steelers will simply steamroll past New England, especially given how strong the defense has played in the past four games.

"They're always very sound. I think their guys up front don't get a lot of credit, but they're very good players," Trubisky said. "They're very stout against the run. They keep it in front. Always well-coached. They do a good job of mixing it up trying to confuse the quarterback with different looks. So, it's a really good defense. They're not giving up a ton of points. So we got a lot of respect for them. It's gonna be a good challenge for us on Thursday."

The North Carolina Tar Heels product has faced the Patriots twice before, throwing for 501 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions in a pair of losses with the Bears in 2018 and the Steelers in 2022.

The Steelers are ranked 28th in the NFL averaging 16 points per game which bodes well for the Patriots' defense. Trubisky is aware moving the ball against New England will be a challenge.

"We want to be an aggressive offense," Trubisky added. "So whatever that means, taking care of football, we got to find ways to score points. That's the bottom line."