Everything seems to be crumbling down in Pittsburgh this week as they deal with plenty of injuries and are coming off their most disappointing loss of the season. They need a spark, but it will be a challenge to fix their issues in a short week. Anytime you play on Thursday night, the winner will normally be the team healthier and more physically imposing.
On paper that seems to work in the Steeler's favor as their run game is still effective and both teams are dealing with injury leading up to this contest. It might come down to one thing and that is which quarterback causes a couple of turnovers to go the other way. Defense is also going to have another massive impact on this game and how it plays out.
Pittsburgh has a more opportunistic defense overall, but the Patriots have a technically sound group under the direction of Bill Belichick. Expect the Steeler's defense to do their best at shutting down the run game and force a couple of turnovers via pressure. New England will try to shut down the run and play smart football by baiting Trubisky into interceptions.
Sporting News has the Steelers putting up their highest score in weeks
Sporting News Prediction: Steelers 17, Patriots 10
This expert does not give too much reasoning behind their prediction. It is crazy that just a couple of years ago this would have been a game that many people talked about. Fans would have been excited to see Tom Brady take on Ben Roethlisberger again. Those days are now long gone and both offenses are struggling to find much footing this year.
The question mark surrounding the Patriots quarterback position remains a tough issue to look past. That only leads to more concerns. The Steelers issue at quarterback isn't anything great either as Mitch Trubisky will have to be the starter due to Kenny Pickett's injury. It's going to probably be a boring slugfest between these two clubs.