Patriots-Steelers Could Have Been One for the Ages By Matt Cunha

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without the services of Ben Roethlisberger when the Patriots play the Steelers on Sunday afternoon. With Landry Jones starting for the Steelers, the Patriots and Tom Brady will walk out of Heinz Field fairly easily with a win. Jones had a quarterback rating of just above 46 last year in 7 appearances. With weapons such as Antonio Brown, Le’veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams, those numbers are not so hot.

It would take a miracle for the Steelers to beat Tom Brady on Sunday. The Patriots fan in me is happy that the Pats will not have to deal with Big Ben and his dynamic offensive. You look at that Patriots schedule and there were only three games that the Pats might not win. In Denver, in Pittsburgh, and at home vs the Seahawks. I should feel ecstatic that one of those games is crossed off the list. Especially with the Bills only a game behind in the AFC East. Yet, I am little disappointed.The game had the potential of being an absolute shootout. With the two best and experienced quarterbacks in the AFC and two loaded offensives, it could have been a magnificent show.  Boston Globe sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy said in a tweet, “No doubt plenty of Patriots boosting. Wonder if anybody wanted to see Big Ben Sunday? I did.”

The score would have been at least somewhere in the 30’s for both teams and maybe even in the 40’s. Watching Antonio Brown, Rob Gronkowski, Le’Veon Bell, Julian Edelman, DeAngelo Williams, Martellus Bennet, Markus Wheaton, and Chris Hogan take darts from two of the best in history would have been astonishing. Watching the Pats win a game like that would make it even more breathtaking.

However, Big Ben will not play on Sunday and it will be business as usually for the Pats. Tom Brady will crush Landry Jones and improve the Patriots record to 6-1. Everyone will forget about the game, take a trip to Dunkin on Monday morning to get there .87 cent coffee and go to work not having been blown away from two superior NFL offensives. There will be no everlasting memories of this Patriots- Steelers game on October 23, 2016. We will never know what could have conspired on the field in Pittsburgh on Sunday. But hey, if the Patriots get home field advantage and win a super bowl. Those memories will last even longer.

 

matt-cunhaMatt Cunha is a producer and columnist on The Drive, weekdays 4pm to 6pm on 92.9fm The Ticket and streaming live at DriveShowMaine.Com. Follow us on Twitter, @DriveShowMaine and “Like Us” on Facebook, Drive Show Maine.