Pittsburgh Steelers

Patriots-Steelers Capsule

Published Dec. 14, 2017 11:26 a.m. ET

PATRIOTS (10-3) at STEELERS (11-2)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS

OPENING LINE - Patriots by 2 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Patriots 8-5, Steelers 6-7

SERIES RECORD - Tied 15-15.

LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Steelers 36-17, Jan. 22 for AFC championship

LAST WEEK - Patriots lost to Dolphins 27-20; Steelers beat Ravens 39-38

AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 3, Steelers No. 1

PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (15), PASS (1)

PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (29), RUSH (24), PASS (29)

STEELERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (4), RUSH (23), PASS (2)

STEELERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (9), PASS (4)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Winner has inside track on home-field advantage throughout AFC playoffs. ... Patriots can clinch ninth consecutive AFC North title with win or tie and Buffalo loss or tie. New England saw eight-game winning streak end last week against Miami. ... Steelers wrapped up second straight AFC North title against Ravens. .... Pittsburgh has won eight straight games, team's longest winning streak since 2004 (15 games). ... New England has won each of last four meetings by average of 15.3 points. ... Patriots QB Tom Brady is 7-2 all-time against Steelers, with 24 touchdowns and three interceptions. ... Brady leads NFL in yards passing (3,865) and QB rating (105.2). ... New England TE Rob Gronkowski is averaging 99.2 yards receiving and has eight touchdowns in five career games vs. Steelers. Gronk was suspended for last week's defeat. ... Patriots RB James White has 12 receiving touchdowns since 2015, most among NFL RBs. ... New England defense allowed 300 yards passing in each of first six games. It has not allowed opposing QB more than 263 yards in seven games since. ... Pittsburgh is 16-1 in last 17 December games dating back to 2013. ... QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 506 yards vs. Ravens, becoming first QB in NFL history to go over 500 yards passing in single game three times. ... WR Antonio Brown leads the NFL receptions (99) and yards receiving (1,509). Brown is tied for second in receiving touchdowns (9). ... Brown one reception shy of becoming first player with five straight 100-catch seasons. ... Pittsburgh RB Le'Veon Bell leads NFL in rushing attempts (283), yards rushing (1,105) and touches (358). ... Pittsburgh K Chris Boswell has made four winning kicks this season, including each of last three games. Boswell's 32 field goals this season third most in team history. ... Steelers are second in NFL in sacks (41). Patriots have allowed 29 sacks. ... Fantasy Tip: Hard to go against Brady against Steelers. Pittsburgh's pass defense is susceptible to big plays. Steelers have allowed 10 completions over 40 yards this season, tied for fourth most in NFL.

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