How yinz doin’?

I’m doing pretty good. Riding a high that is the Steelers making it to the AFC Championship. As we say around these parts, Pittsburgh is “One Sunday Closer” to their seventh Lombardi Trophy, but to get to the big game, they need to (in Ben Roethlisberger‘s words) “slay the dragon” up in Foxborough.

Now, many people didn’t give the Steelers a chance last weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs, and many aren’t giving them a shot against Tom Brady and the Patriots. However, I believe that Belichick has some chinks in his armor with his current squad, and the Steelers will find a way to win.

Yep, that’s the first big prediction, and a biased, but easy one.

I hope the trend of being right continues, because I absolutely nailed Le’Veon Bell topping 150 yards rushing, the defense forcing the Chiefs to turn the ball over twice, and Tyreek Hill being “halted”. (I didn’t get all of those numbers exact, but the ideas were there!)

So what’s my big pick this week? It might surprise you.

Bell breaks ground

Belichick needs to find a way to slow down the Steelers, and it all goes through Le’Veon Bell, who set the franchise postseason record during Wild Card weekend, then broke it again last week against Kansas City.

The Patriots have the third-ranked rush defense in the regular season, but I think they’d be hard-pressed to stop a Steelers offensive line, and a running back, that are absolutely on fire.

Oh, and the Pats haven’t really played against a premiere back all year. The few they have, all topped 100 or more yards from scrimmage.

I, like Brian Roach in his preview, think that Bell could break his record again. If not, I have him down for a buck-fifty.

You can count on it.

Upright Ben

Kansas City and Miami were only able to get to Ben once a piece: the Patriots will not get to him at all.

This offensive line is smokin’ hot, and with a QB who is already difficult to get on the ground, I can’t see Big Ben getting sacked.

Edelman pulls a Kelce

Did anyone watch the Patriots and Texans game last week? Tom Brady was pretty vocal, but it was Julian Edelman who became uncorked several times throughout the game.

Look for it again this week, and watch Edelman draw a penalty with his short fuse.

He’s already proven to get a little hot with his response to the AB video, so I expect he could get a tad emotional Sunday.

Brady picked, twice

He’s only thrown two all year, but I think everyone is sleeping on the Steelers, and their revamped pass rush.

It’s going to take a lot to get it done, but I could see two turnovers in this game, in much the same way Bud Dupree hit Alex Smith in the act of throwing.

Brady isn’t all that mobile anymore, and after watching Jadeveon Clowney get after the Patriots quarterback a lot last week, I can’t see how the Steelers, especially James Harrison, Bud Dupree, Lawrence Timmons, and Ryan Shazier, don’t drop him a few times, and force some mistakes in the process.

Antonio Brown blows up Butler

How good has AB been against New England’s Malcolm Butler?

Whenever the Pats cornerback shadowed the Steelers receiver, Brown has scorched the Earth… to the tune of 15 catches for 230 yards, and a touchdown, over the course of two games. I might sound like a broken record, but one of those games was with Landry Jones, not Ben Roethlisberger!

So how exactly is Butler going to stop Brown?

He’s not.

AB goes over 100, might have a score, might not. As long as he’s moving the chains, it really doesn’t matter, because the Steelers won’t have to rely on Antonio alone for touchdowns.

Steelers cover the spread

I believe the Steelers will not only cover the 5.5-6 point spread they are giving New England, but they will beat the Patriots by two scores; and double digits too.

That means I think that Pittsburgh can win by at least 10 points, which seems like a more realistic number than a bolder prediction of 17. 🙂

With all of that said, I don’t really care how many of these I predict successfully, so long as I only hit on one: the Steelers going to the Super Bowl.