When the Pittsburgh Steelers have won this season, they’ve usually won ugly. A low-scoring game where the offense does just enough in the fourth quarter and the defense gets a crucial stop to let the Steelers squeak out a win. Tonight’s Week 14 matchup against the New England Patriots is shaping up to be another gritty affair, and Chris Simms thinks Pittsburgh’s experience playing and winning ugly will help them out tonight.
“This game can turn in one play because of the lack of offensive explosion on either side of the ball,” Simms said via NFL on NBC’s YouTube channel. “Pittsburgh, for the most part, is used to playing that type of football game. They’re really good at taking care of the football, and like we always talk about, out hit you, and all of a sudden late third quarter, fourth quarter they make a play somewhere. So that’s where I envision the game going again tonight,” he added.
Simms also said the Steelers offense isn’t good, whereas the New England offense is a “dumpster fire” that has a penchant for turning the ball over too much. Adding in injuries to RB Rhamondre Stevenson and WR Demario Douglas, Simms said it’s a “huge obstacle” for the New England offense to overcome Pittsburgh’s defense and they’re going to struggle against the Steelers’ defense.
There’s a reason why the game has a historically low over/under of 30.5 and that, as of this morning, the majority of the public money was on the under. The Steelers’ offense isn’t good, and they’re down QB Kenny Pickett and will have to roll with backup QB Mitch Trubisky. The New England offense has been even worse, and they’ll start QB Bailey Zappe tonight, who just got shut out by the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. It’s going to be a bad offensive game and one that, as Simms said, is probably going to come down to one big play, whether that’s on the offensive side or defensive side of the ball.
The key for both teams is going to be not turning the ball over and giving the other offense a short field to work with. The field position battle is going to be massive in the game, and Mike Tomlin talked about the importance of special teams and the effect that aspect will have on the game, too.
If the Steelers’ defense can force a few New England turnovers, the Steelers should be in good shape. They’re going to have to make sure Mitch Trubisky can take care of the ball and doesn’t force it while trying to make a play. The game tonight might be closer than it should due to just how bad both offenses are, but it’s a must-win game for the Steelers and one they need to control. If they struggle tonight against a 2-10 New England team after losing to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, it’s going to be a rough rest of the season.
Watch Simms and Mike Florio’s full breakdown of the game below.
