New England Patriots

FOXBORO (Sports Network) ― In their past two games, the New England Patriots have played with fire.

On Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium, the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers will look to turn that blaze into an inferno.

The Patriots, heavy favorites in recent narrow wins over the Eagles (31-28) and Ravens (27-24) have encountered fourth-quarter deficits in both of those contests, only to rally late.

This past Monday night in Baltimore, it took a 13-play, 73-yard drive furthered by several defensive penalties to keep Bill Belichick's team unbeaten. A controversial eight-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to wideout Jabar Gaffney in the final minute ended up being the game-winning score, though a desperation heave from Ravens signal-caller Kyle Boller to wideout Mark Clayton fell two yards shy of giving the home team a miracle win.

This week, the Patriots will be trying to avoid such drama while also becoming the fifth team in NFL history to start 13-0. Following the Steelers battle, New England will take on the 3-9 Jets, 0-12 Dolphins, and 8-4 Giants to end the regular season.

Vying to send New England to the right-hand column of the standings for the first time this year is a Steelers club that has spent most of the year just below the Patriots and Colts on the NFL radar.

Pittsburgh was a 24-10 winner over the Bengals this past Sunday night, upping its record at Heinz Field to 7-0 this season, but Mike Tomlin's club knows it must play better away from the Steel City in order to earn league-wide respect.

The Steelers - who play three of their final four games away from Pittsburgh - are just 2-3 in away games under Tomlin, with none of the three losses coming against a team currently sporting a winning record.

The Black and Gold's most recent sojourn resulted in a 19-16 overtime loss to the Jets, an opponent that was 1-8 entering that game.

A win in New England, while also altering the perception of the AFC power structure, could also give the Steelers their first division title since 2004. Pittsburgh would also need the Browns (7-5) to lose to the Jets on Sunday in order to secure the crown.

SERIES HISTORY

The Steelers have a 12-6 edge in their all-time regular season series with the Patriots, but were 23-20 home losers when the teams last met, in Pittsburgh's Super Bowl season of 2005. The Steelers won the previous regular season matchup, taking a 34-20 decision at Heinz Field against a then-6-0 New England team in 2004. The Pats won the most recent game between the two in Foxborough, a 30-14 affair in 2002. Pittsburgh last won in New England in 1997.

The teams have also met in the playoffs four times since 1996, with the Patriots winning a 1996 AFC Divisional Playoff (28-3), the Steelers returning the favor with a victory in a 1997 AFC Divisional Playoff (7-6), and New England prevailing in the 2001 (24-17) and 2004 (41-27) AFC Championships. The 1997, 2001, and 2004 meetings were all played in Pittsburgh.

Belichick has a 7-9 mark against the Steelers, including 4-1 since coming to New England. Pittsburgh's Tomlin will be meeting both Belichick and the Patriots for the first time as a head coach.

WHEN THE STEELERS HAVE THE BALL

In order to pull off the upset in New England, the Steelers are going to require a stronger offensive effort than the one they managed against the Bengals a week ago. Running back Willie Parker (1093 rushing yards, 2 TD, 17 receptions) rushed 28 times for 87 yards in the win, but also lost two fumbles and nearly lost two more. With backup Najeh Davenport (320 rushing yards, 3 TD, 13 receptions) a question mark to play due to a lingering foot injury, the rushing load could once again fall completely on Parker's shoulders. Also needing to avoid miscues will be quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (2564 passing yards, 25 TD, 11 INT), who completed 21-of-32 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions in wet, slippery conditions last week. Roethlisberger has now failed to cross 200 yards in three straight outings after reaching the plateau in six consecutive previous starts. New Steelers touchdown reception king Hines Ward (57 receptions, 6 TD) will be looking to build on a Week 13 that saw him tie, then pass, John Stallworth on the team's all-time TD catch list with his 62nd and 63rd scores. Ward had 11 receptions for 90 yards on the night. Potentially assisting a Steelers attack that ranks 14th in the league overall (332 yards per game) is the return of wide receiver Santonio Holmes (39 receptions, 7 TD), and left tackle Marvel Smith, who have each missed the last two games with ankle and back problems, respectively.

The reputation of the Patriots defense took a hit in Monday night's win over the Ravens, as a lightly-regarded Baltimore attack more or less had its way with New England. Baltimore running back Willis McGahee carried 30 times for a season-high 138 yards and a touchdown in the contest, and Boller was an efficient 15-of-23 passing for 210 yards and a pair of touchdowns with an interception. The defensive play of the night for the Patriots was turned in by safety James Sanders (55 tackles, 2 INT), who intercepted an overthrown Boller pass in the fourth quarter to deny the Ravens in adding to a then-seven point lead. A pass rush that will be without Rosevelt Colvin due to an undisclosed injury for the remainder of the year did not manage a sack of Boller, an ominous sign for the unit. Outside linebacker Mike Vrabel (60 tackles, 9.5 sacks), who had four tackles in the victory, continues to lead the Pats in sacks. Inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi (70 tackles, 2 sacks) had 12 tackles in Baltimore, and remains the team leader in stops. In the secondary this week, cornerbacks Asante Samuel (27 tackles, 6 INT) and Ellis Hobbs (50 tackles, 1 sack) figure to match up with Ward and Holmes, respectively. The Patriots are third in the league in total defense (289.4 yards per game) following Monday night's struggles.

WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL

The offensive numbers for the Patriots are gaudy, and will remain so. New England quarterback Tom Brady leads the NFL in passing yards (3696), touchdown passes (41), and passer rating (123.4), receiver Randy Moss (75 receptions) paces the league in touchdowns (17), and New England is No. 1 in NFL total offense (425.3 yards per game), passing offense (304 yards per game), scoring offense (39.1 points per game), and touchdowns (61). Belichick's club has also committed the fewest turnovers in the league (10), and paces the NFL in turnover margin (+17). That said, wideouts Moss and Wes Welker (84 reception,s 7 TD) come off their quietest outings of the season, as the duo combined for just seven catches and 52 yards versus the Ravens. Running back Laurence Maroney (511 rushing yards, 2 TD) turned in a game-high 79 receiving yards on just two receptions, though he never got untracked in the running game while managing just 44 yards on 13 totes. Wideout Donte Stallworth (40 receptions, 3 TD) tallied three grabs for 68 yards in the win. his second-most productive day of the season. Brady, who has rarely been pressured this year, was sacked three times in Baltimore.

Call it the unstoppable force against the irresistible object. While New England is setting records for offense, the Steelers come into this week ranked No. 1 in the league in total defense (230.8 yards per game), passing defense (154 yards per game), scoring defense (12.9 points per game), touchdowns allowed (17), and rushing touchdowns allowed (3). A defense that last week prevented the Bengals from scoring points on seven of their nine trips into Pittsburgh territory and forced Carson Palmer into the lowest completion percentage of his career (17-of-44, 38.6 percent) will need to keep New England's offensive efficiency relatively low. Helping matters is the expected return of safety Troy Polamalu (42 tackles), who has been out two games with a knee injury. Other stars on the unit include run-stuffing nose tackle Casey Hampton (17 tackles) and outside linebacker James Harrison (75 tackles, 8.5 sacks), both of whom are likely Pro Bowl-bound. The key matchups for Pittsburgh will be in the secondary, where cornerbacks Deshea Townsend (41 tackles, 2 INT), Ike Taylor (53 tackles, 2 INT, 1 sack), and Bryant McFadden (15 tackles, 1 INT) will be attempting to match up with New England's fleet of receivers.

FANTASY FOCUS

The Patriots have been as close to a fantasy sure-thing as you'll ever hope to see, though owners of Pats like Moss and Welker had to be disappointed by those players' relatively weak showings in Baltimore. Given that the Steelers secondary is not as strong as that of the Ravens, look for both receivers' numbers to improve on Sunday. Brady is the league's fantasy MVP as well as its real MVP, and Maroney actually had a decent fantasy week with over 120 combined yards against the Ravens.

On the Pittsburgh side, Parker has been as reliable a running back as you'll find in the NFL this year, though his fumbles hurt more than a few owners last week. Roethlisberger's numbers have tapered off, but he is still a worthwhile start, as is Ward, who always seems to come up with some catches even when he is not scoring touchdowns. The Steeler defense is a risky play this week given the Patriots' offensive proficiency. Might be best to keep them on the bench.

Both kickers and defenses are a decent play.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

After playing a couple of nail-biters in a row, a Patriots team that Belichick describes as "tired" can't be jacked up about playing the physical Steelers on a short week. The fact that the Steelers are a run-first, stop-the-run-styled team does not necessarily bode well for a New England club that neither stopped Willis McGahee nor established Laurence Maroney on Monday night. Still, at the end of the day, you have to wonder about the Steelers' obvious inconsistency away from Heinz Field this season, as well as their occasional problems at covering opposing passing attacks. Expect that Pittsburgh will make enough mistakes to harm their chances in a difficult road environment, and for the Patriots to walk away as a 13-0 team when all is said and done.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Patriots 27, Steelers 17

(Sports Network)