Steelers at Patriots AFC Championship: Potential Unsung Heroes

The Steelers are underdogs in the AFC Championship game so if they’re going to win they’ll need help from their stars as well as some potential unsung heroes.

If Antonio Brown gets at least 100 yards receiving against the Patriots, he will be the first player in NFL history to have five consecutive playoff games of 100+ yards per game. On Sunday Ben Roethlisberger joins Tom Brady, John Elway, Brett Favre, Peyton Manning and Joe Montana as the only QB’s to start 20 or more NFL playoff games.

Le’Veon Bell has 340 scrimmage yards in the 2016 playoffs; if he reaches 400 yards he will be the first Steeler to do that in the post season in history. James Harrison’s 11 sacks in the playoffs are tied for 5th-most in the NFL.

More from Still Curtain

• 4 reasons Steelers would have been embarrassed in the NFL playoffs
• The easiest cut the Pittsburgh Steelers will make in 2023
• Steelers news: Rashard Mendenhall calls out Big Ben, Brian Flores interviews for HC job, and more
• Steelers play it safe in recent 2023 NFL mock draft
• Kenny Pickett gets his guy in latest Steelers mock draft with trades

Those are all very impressive and if the Steelers are going to go into New England and take down the Patriots they’re definitely going to need a strong performance out of the likes of Roethlisberger, Brown, Bell and Harrison. But they’ll also need other guys to step up big time.

Who are some of the potential unsung heroes we might be talking about come Monday morning? Who will make the plays that won’t get as much attention as they’ll deserve?

The next field goal Chris Boswell kicks will give him the best start to a postseason career for any kicker in NFL history. That’s a good start. None of us really want to see it have to come down to a Boswell field goal but it’s good to have confidence.

Another one could be Darrius Heyward-Bey either making a much-needed play on special teams or connecting with Roethlisberger on a 60-yard bomb at a crucial time.

Sometimes Todd Haley will have Le’Veon Bell line up in the slot that that creates a wide open middle of the field for Roethlisberger to hit up a guy like Jesse James or, if he’s healthy, Ladarius Green.

How about a big play from William Gay? Been a long time since we’ve talked about him. I think he’s due and no one celebrates a pick six quite like Willie Gay.

Next: Looking at Le'Veon Bell's patience

What are some names you’d give for a potential unsung hero for the Steelers?