New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Preview, Odds, Prediction
By Hal Bent
The New England Patriots will be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night for the AFC Championship. Here is all the info you’ll need to know.
Two of the most storied franchises of the modern NFL face-off in the playoffs for the first time since January 23, 2005 when rookie Ben Roethlisberger lost to Tom Brady on the way to his third Super Bowl victory. Amazingly, although both teams have been perennial playoff teams, they have managed to avoid each other for over a decade in the postseason.
Pittsburgh is coming off an impressive road win in Kansas City last Sunday night piling up 389 total yards off offense while holding Kansas City the Chiefs to just 227 total yards (all stats from Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted). Le’Veon Bell led the way for the Steelers with 170 yards rushing on 30 carries.
For New England, it was another sloppy Divisional Round game as they won 34-16 over the Houston Texans. The Texans’ strong defense held the Patriots seemingly in check but still allowed 27 points to the offense. New England overcame a slow start (just as they had done against Baltimore after the 2014 regular season) to pull out a comfortable victory.
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It is time to get ready for the New England Patriots facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. The game is at Gillette Stadium on CBS on Sunday, January 22, 2017 at 6:40PM. Phil Simms and Jim Nantz will be in the studio with Tracy Wolfson on the sidelines.
In the local Boston market the game will be carried on WBZ-TV channel 4. On local radio, Bob Socci and Scott Zolak can be hear on the Patriots Radio Network flagship station, 98.5FM the Sports Hub. Nationally, the game is heard on Westwood One with Dan Fouts and Kevin Harlan calling the game and Ross Tucker on the sidelines.