Tom Brady is the one guy the Pittsburgh Steelers have never been able to figure out. Brady is 7-2 against the Steelers lifetime, completing nearly 70% of his passes, throwing 24 touchdowns, and just three interceptions.
Of course, it’s fair to say the rest of the NFL has never really figured out how to stop him either.
It is Brady and the New England Patriots who stand in the way of the Steelers’ ninth Super Bowl appearance. Pittsburgh will have to slay the dragon if they want to make a trip down to Houston in February. That’s something Mike Mitchell recognizes.
“For us, it’s obviously going to be minimizing his role, getting pressure, but it’s going to be a full team effort,” Mitchell said via the Steelers’ periscope on trying to slow down Brady.
Mitchell went on to explain what makes Brady such an effective quarterback.
“He throws a very good deep ball. He’s very good at moving a guy one hash to the other and hit you on the seam. It requires a lot of discipline, a lot of eye discipline, to defend. We’re going to have our hands full. I’m going to have my hands full.”
Brady has beaten the Steelers in three straight regular season matchups. His last loss came in 2011, a 25-17 defeat in Pittsburgh. He’s never lost to the Steelers at home. He also hasn’t thrown an interception against Pittsburgh in practically forever. The last one came in 2005, Ben Roethlisberger’s second year in the league, a time when Jerome Bettis was still playing, and Big Ben was regarded as the quintessential game manager.
It’ll be up to Mitchell to change that tide. But when you’re one of only four teams still in the dance, there isn’t much room to complain.
“These are the games you want to play in. These are the type of people you want to be playing against.”
And there is no one else you’d rather knock off than Tom Brady.
