Patriots - Steelers AFC Championship Key Matchups

Patriots RBs vs Steelers Front Seven – Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots running game was the 7^th ranked rushing attack in the league during the season averaging 117.0 yards per game. Using a tandem of LaGarrette Blount and the speedier Dion Lewis between the tackles, they can mix things up effectively and keep the opposing defenses from teeing off on Tom Brady.

Pittsburgh’s run defense improved during the second half of 2016. With the emergence of Ryan Shazier and Bud Dupree at the linebacker position, they were much tougher to run on down the stretch. They allowed 100.0 yards per game on the ground (13^th) but were 10-1 when holding opponents under the century mark.

Look for Josh McDaniels play calling to try to catch the Steelers with their pass rush coming and keeping things mixed up. Lewis and Blount give the Patriots a nice tandem to run between the tackles and stay patient with the running game

Patriots WRs vs Steelers Secondary – Razor’s Edge New England
The Patriots passing game will miss Rob Gronkowski in this one as he’s traditionally given the Steelers fits. They’ll look to improve their protection as the Texans moved some of their edge players inside and came on A-gap blitzes which were very effective.

The Pittsburgh pass defense also got better as the season went on. James Harrison and Bud DuPree gave them good bookend pass rushers and the younger players in the secondary, Russ Cockrell, Artie Burns and Sean Davis were creating turnovers. Inside linebackers, Shazier and Lawrence Timmons have played very well down the stretch.

Tom Brady has always had excellent success against the Steelers, and for this to continue, he’ll rely on Julian Edelman and bothLewis and James White out of the backfield, early in this one. The key from a New England standpoint is to force the linebackers to play in space where they have a bit of an advantage.

Chris Hogan, Michael Floyd, Danny Amendola and Malcolm Mitchell will face some one-on-one matchups as the Steelers defense will look to take away Edelman. Winning those battles will be a big key to watch as Brady will have some opportunities to go down the field.

Next up the Pittsburgh offense:

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About Steve Balestrieri

A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)

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