6 rings: Mike Kadlick sits down with NESN's Dakota Randall to preview patriots vs. steelers
The Patriots arrived in Pittsburgh on Wednesday night ahead of their Week 14, Thursday Night Football game against the Steelers.
At 2-10 and 7-5, these franchises are looking in two different directions at this juncture of the season. One's focused on draft position, while the other is fighting for the postseason.
The players? They're just trying to win. Here are 10 to watch:
10 - LB Elandon Roberts, Steelers
I noticed a familiar face atop Pittsburgh’s list of tacklers this week when preparing for Thursday’s game. That’s right, former Patriots linebacker Elandon Roberts, a sixth-round pick in 2016, is now a Steeler.
Roberts left the Pats for the Dolphins in 2020 to re-unite himself with his former linebackers coach Brian Flores and, after playing in Miami for three seasons, signed with Pittsburgh on a two-year deal this March. Their leading tackler, with 80 Roberts will be one to watch as New England’s Bailey Zappe navigates this daunting Steelers defense.
9 - QB Bailey Zappe, Patriots and 8 - QB Mitchell Trubisky, Steelers
Speaking of Zappe, he’ll make his second start of the season on Thursday night just four days after his first.
Last week against the Chargers, the second-year quarterback completed just 13 of his 25 pass attempts for 141 yards and failed to lead the Patritots on a scoring drove. They lost 6-0.
“We’re close,” Zappe said on Tuesday in his first mid-week presser as New England’s starting quarterback “We talk about that a lot. It’s just one or two things that happen that kind of alter you from scoring, and once we’ve just got to fix those one or two things. And, once we do that, I feel like we’ll start being able to start putting points on the board.”
The quarterback on the other side of this one on Thursday? Mitchell Trubisky.
In the Steelers’ 24-10 loss to the Cardinals last Sunday, starter Kenny Pickett left the game with a right ankle injury and subsequently underwent tightrope surgery on Monday. Trubisky finished last weekend’s game for Pittsburgh, going 11 of 17 passing for a touchdown while also losing a critical fumble.
It’ll be quite the signal caller battle in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
7 - RB Najee Harris, Steelers, 6 - RB Jaylen Warren, Steelers, 5 - RB Ezekiel Elliott, Patriots
Because of the sub-par quarterback play we’ll likely see at Acrisure Stadium on Thursday, both team’s will look to lean on their running game in this one.
For the Steelers, starter Najee Harris didn’t practice this week as he rehabs a lingering knee injury. Whether he can or can’t go is to be determined as he’s officially listed as questionable, but either way, backup Jaylen Warren could be called upon to take a bulk of the carries.
An undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State in 2022, Warren has ran for 601 yards and three touchdowns this season with average of 5.9 yards per carry (compared to just 4.2 for Harris). The Steelers like what they have in him. New England will need to keep him at bay.
As for the Patriots’ running backs, Rhamondre Stevenson is officially listed as out for Thursday’s game after suffering a sprained ankle in their loss to the Chargers. Initial reporting from ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggests that he’ll miss ‘a few weeks’, but it may be wiser, given New England’s 2-10 record, to shelf him for the remainder of the season.
This’ll spring Ezekiel Elliott into a starting role. Elliott, who the Patriots signed in August to a one-year deal worth up to $6 million with incentives, has rushed for 429 yards on 112 carries behind Stevenson this season, and has also hauled in 24 receptions.
Like Pittsburgh will with Warren, the Patriots are likely to feed Zeke on Thursday.
4 - OL Mike Onwenu, Patriots
The Patriots have struggled in the offensive line department for much of this season, and that trend reared it’s ugly head again last week against the Chargers.
Bailey Zappe, while he looked to have a better pocket presence than Mac Jones has had this season, was still sacked five times on Sunday and was pressured plenty more.
That’s why I’m watching right tackle Mike Onwenu this week. Though he’s been the epitome of consistency through much of his Patriots’ career, Onwenu struggled last week against perennial All-Pro Khalil Mack, and will now have to go against perennial All-Pro T.J. Watt on Thursday.
Good luck.
3 - WR Tyquan Thornton, Patriots
Ironically, given his injury history, second-year wide receiver Tyquan Thornton is one of the Patriots healthiest wide receivers heading into Thursday night.
With Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte officially out and DeVante Parker and JuJu Smith-Schuster listed as questionable, Thornton may be on the field plenty for New England against Pittsburgh.
Last week versus the Chargers, the speedster played 80% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps but didn’t record a reception. He had one target, and also recorded a carry for 39 yards.
Thornton’s best game as a rookie was a 2022 Week 6 against the Browns where he caught four passes for 37 yards and a touchdown and also carried the ball three times for 16 yards and a touchdown. The good news? Bailey Zappe was the quarterback for that one, too. Maybe they can channel that same magic again on Thursday night.
2 - S Minkah Fitzpatrick, Steelers and 1 - LB T.J. Watt, Steelers
No.’s 2 and 1 on the list are the two best players in the game in safety Minkah Fitzpatick and LB T.J. Watt.
After a career-high six interceptions in 2022, Fitzpatrick has yet to snag one this season but he's still been all over the field for the Steelers’ secondary. Tallying 59 tackles and two pass deflections so far this season, he continues to be one of the more instinctual players in football.
One of the others? T.J. Watt, who Bill Belichick went on about for over two minutes on Wednesday:
"He’s an instinctive player. He’s very quick off the ball. He has a good edge pass rush," the Patriots head coach explained when asked about what makes the linebacker so great. "He’s got really good lower-body strength and balance. He does a very good job of closing to the quarterback and rarely gets knocked off balance. He might get hit but he’s able to play through contact and stay on his track. He really does a good job of condensing the pocket; even when he doesn’t hit the quarterback, he forces the quarterback into a smaller space that helps everybody else who’s rushing, Highsmith or whoever the other edge player is."
He continued: "He’s a very good pursuit player. He makes a lot of plays from the backside, or makes plays when you think he’s blocked, he’s out of the play, and he’s able to cross-face the blocker and get back in the play. He has enough speed and desire and motor to get to some of those plays from the backside when you think that he should be a non-factor – and he ends up making a play for a 6-7-yard gain. Well, sometimes those are some of the biggest plays in the game because if he doesn’t make it, it might go for 40."
There was more, but I'll save it. Watt has 14 sacks this season and is on a trajectory to have a better career than his brother J.J. when it's all said and done. Zappe will need to have his head on a swivel against this defense.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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