Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers Crossover: Bailey Zappe, T.J. Watt and More
Episode Date: December 7, 2023The New England Patriots are set for a Week 14 showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Will the Pats be able to finally find the end zone with Bailey Zappe as the starting quarte...rback? Will the loss of Rhamondre Stevenson prevent New England from gaining the road victory? Host Mike D’Abate welcomes Christopher Carter of Locked On Steelers to breakdown this Thursday night matchup on this Crossover episode. Find and follow Locked On Patriots on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-patriots-daily-podcast-on-new-england-patriots/id1140512627?i=1000632782469 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1c5ZxFmwg3WbfxAU3tR5Ve?si=k196wH-yRqifUcQQz8SjIQStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-patriotsAnd follow host Mike D’Abate on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the New England Patriots and talking with fans.Twitter: @mdabateNFLSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.Skylight FrameSkylight is a touchscreen photo frame you can send photos to straight from your phone! Get $15 off a Skylight Frame at Skylightframe.com/Lockedon.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month. PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG(CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat(CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
You are Locked On Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast Network.
I'm Chris Carter. He's Mike DeBate.
We are of Locked On Steelers and Locked On Patriots,
and we're getting you ready for Thursday night football.
Tonight's the night these two teams throw down.
Not as much of the classic fights that several of the Steelers and Patriots years
have brought in the past,
but still one that will be fun to discuss here on the show.
As always, you can find this show on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube like this video.
If you enjoyed, subscribe to this channel to get all of your daily Monday through Friday episodes.
Remember, we bring you your team every day here on the Locked On Podcast Network.
Today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix.
This crossover Thursday brings you PrizePix.
And this is the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports.
Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use code all lowercase.
Locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100.
Mike, Steelers fans were going through it this past week because they lost to the 2-10 Cardinals,
and now they face the 2-10 Patriots.
But it sounds like you and the Patriots fans have been going through it all year.
And the one thing that these two teams have in common is that nobody wants to watch their offenses.
And, oh boy, they both get to play in primetime now.
It really is.
The football gods are not smiling on the rest of the nation.
I don't think when the schedule makers kind of dream this up, that they'd be looking at Mitchell Trubisky taking the ball against Bailey Zappi.
But yet, Chris, here we are.
And that's exactly what we're going to see.
And look, bottom line, these two offenses are not going to be at full strength.
They're going to be a shell of what they usually are,
but there's still enough talent on both sides of the ball
where this one could get interesting.
Folks, don't sleep on this matchup.
This could be a better one than people anticipate.
We'll see what the football gods have in store for us,
but there is still ways that this one can be intriguing,
and I know we're going to discuss all of those today
here on the Crossover Thursday episode.
Absolutely. Let's start with the quarterback position. In in Pittsburgh they got Mitch Trubisky starting Kenny Pickett is out two to four weeks uh reportedly uh as as he just got ankle surgery
on Monday there you know he's you know he told you know Mitch Trubisky go get him Trubisky seems
like he's ready to go and you know Trubisky not without experience you know he's probably one of
the more experienced backup quarterbacks in the NFL with over 40 plus starts.
You know, he played for the Bears for several years, started for the Steelers for like about four games last year before they benched him for Kenny Pickett.
And then also came back in and it has played played in some pinches for the Steelers since then.
But on the flip side, Bailey Zappi is the quarterback for the Patriots.
And that's a little bit different, right, Because, you know, Mack Jones, he struggled. And I think the Patriots were trying to get him to kind of come back down
to earth and figure things out or get his feet underneath him. And now Bailey Zappi's been in,
but what's the sense with Zappi right now, as far as the Patriots and what he is allowed or able to
do in this offense? Well, that's a really good question. And to me, Chris, that's the biggest story coming out of New England right now is how is New England going to find a way
to put points on the board with Zappi under center and with their two top offensive weapons this
season, rookie receiver Demario Douglas and Ramondre Stevenson likely on the shelf. Ramondre's
definitely not going. The high ankle sprain, he's going to be out for a few weeks. Demario right now
still in concussion protocol. This was a tough week tough week a short week turnaround and I don't expect to see him on the
field he sat out the last couple of practices so in that regard where it's Mac Jones whether it's
Bailey Zappi there really hasn't been that much difference in the Patriots passing game I thought
overall Bailey did a better job of navigating the pocket. He tried to extend plays, but his passes were still off the mark. We sped up style of play, and that just wasn't conducive to what New England
needed to do.
Bottom line, when you're shut out of production in your first NFL start this season, and your
third overall start as a starting quarterback like Bailey Zappi was, there's not a whole
lot of optimism heading into this one.
He's still sailing balls behind the receiver.
His first series against the Chargers, we saw him sail one over the head of Devontae Parker.
He did turn in a few noteworthy throws.
So Steelers fans, don't be a bit surprised to see Bailey Zappi maybe scramble, get out of the pocket,
or stand in the pocket and deliver a nice ball.
He had a 21-yard completion to Devontae on Sunday that really, I think,
gave Patriots fans hope that something could happen.
But again, struggles with accuracy, dooming the Patriots far too often,
and really it starts with Poise under center at the quarterback position.
So if they're not getting the protection from the O-line,
if they don't have the offensive skill position players to be weapons out there,
probably going to be looking at a lot more of the same for New England.
Maybe not the same level of zero points futility, but it's still not going to be a pretty sight.
Yeah, Mr. Biskey hasn't been too much better.
But I will say this is that he the one thing Mr. Biskey has on his side is that he isn't afraid to take shots.
And that was even something he kind of emphasized. We talked to him on Wednesday at the Steelers facility saying that, like, you know, hey, yeah, aggression is part of it.
You got to take you got to take your shot this year. And that's something that people have criticized Kenny Pickett for.
And it's funny because I remember covering Kenny Pickett in 2021.
And the guy that was that was working up with him in a lot of the stats conversations all throughout the season was Bailey Zappi when he played for Western Kentucky
because him and his receiver were just lighting up scoreboards
in a lot of their games.
But, you know, and for Kenny Pickett, you go through a lot of his games,
he limits his interceptions, but he also limits his touchdowns.
And that's where I think the Steelers, you know,
want to see a little bit more there.
Trubisky, a little bit more willing to take some of those risks,
a little bit more willing to push the ball down the field. But the Steelers also, you know, they know their a little bit more there. Trubisky, a little bit more willing to take some of those risks, a little bit more willing to push the ball down the field.
But the Steelers also, you know, they know their style of ball right now.
They want to run the ball, and they want to protect the football,
and they want to play great defense.
That's how they win most of their games.
They've won pretty much all of them by holding opponents under 20 points,
scoring just enough to get the win, and that's been the formula.
And it's not that they only want to win, and that's been the formula. And that's not the only thing they want to win,
but it's the way that they know that they can win
because they haven't really seen that kind of production.
And I think this is going to be a game where both teams are trying to win the same way,
and that's where this game could be really interesting to see, like, you know,
which side plays better in these situations.
I think it kind of gives the Steelers an edge
because they've been more successful at this,
and they've done this now for like three seasons they've played this way.
But after the loss to the Cardinals,
anything's game as far as the Steelers when it comes to opponents
and anyone pulling off upsets right now.
And that's exactly how New England has been building the formula,
which normally would lead to wins, Chris.
Like you said, stopping the run, being able to be very forceful on defense and utilizing that defense to be able to cause problems for the opposing pass catcher.
But it should open up opportunities on the offense to be able to score points.
And the Patriots simply have not been able to do that every time their running game starts to get into a rhythm it's either an injury or a setback along the offensive line that prevents
them from reaching what they need to do it's going to be very very interesting to see how without
Ramondre Stevenson in that backfield Bailey Zappi finds an escape route to be able to escape
pressure at times one of the big problems that he had on Sunday, and he continues to have, is holding onto the ball.
Five sacks taken on Sunday,
four of which were directly credited to problems along the offensive line.
That whole line needs to step it up big this week,
and they're facing a fearsome Steelers defensive front
that is not going to yield anytime soon.
New England has its work cut out for them on a short week without question.
Absolutely.
The Patriots also have a pretty talented defense.
We'll talk about both of these defenses on the other side of this break right here
on Crossover Thursday here on the Locked On Podcast Network.
Locked On Steelers, Locked On Patriots, stick with us.
We have a lot to discuss.
But first, we want to remind you that this show is brought to you by LinkedIn.
These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stakes wager for your small business.
You need the right people on your team to help your small business fire on all cylinders,
and that's where LinkedIn Jobs is here to make it easier to find people that you want to talk to faster and for free.
Create a free job post in minutes on LinkedIn Jobs to reach your network and beyond
to the world's largest professional network of over 810 million people. Then add your job in the purple hashtag hiring
frame to your LinkedIn profile to spread the word that you're hiring so your network can help you
find the right people to hire. Simple tools like screening questions make it easy to focus on
candidates with just the right skills and experience so you can quickly prioritize who
you'd like to interview and hire. It's why small businesses rate LinkedIn jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors.
LinkedIn jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to faster.
Did you know that every week nearly 40 million job seekers visit LinkedIn?
Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL.
That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free.
Terms and conditions apply.
We're back here on Crossover Thursday here in the Locked On Podcast Network.
Locked On Steelers meets Locked On Patriots for
Thursday night football here.
We got through the boring part of talking about
these offenses, but these defenses have done
a lot better this season.
The Patriots ranked 15th
in points allowed right now
in the NFL. The Steelers ranked sixth.
But the Patriots have been on a roll defensively.
They have now held, what, three straight opponents to, what is it, 10 or less points.
Now, granted, all those have been losses.
But regardless, when you hold an opponent to 10 or less points for three straight weeks, that is insane.
I don't care who you're playing.
The defense deserves credit here. Do you feel like the defense has figured anything out here, Mike, or is this kind of you think that this is a misnomer that kind of will just
get lost because it lost in what's been a bad season for New England? I think it's a little
bit of both, but I really think that this defense has not gotten the credit that it's deserved
because it's playing on
a 2-10 team you know and I mean a lot of that is not their fault you mentioned that statistic
you're talking 1938 the last time 10 points or lower in three straight games that were all
resulted in losses you cannot say in good conscience that this defense is not doing its job
especially that front seven and stopping the run.
New England's Achilles heel for the last few seasons has been stopping the run.
They've been very good defending against the pass,
but this has been a porous team
when it comes to yielding yardage,
especially on the ground.
The Patriots now rank fourth in rushing yards
with 88.7 points on average allowed.
They're first in yards per carry with 3.2.
So you're looking at a front
that really took that personally. I think they came into this season looking to help to shore
that up and really put other teams on notice that you're not going to run the ball at will
against the New England Patriots anymore. Devon Godchow, Lawrence Guy, Christian Barmore,
and then Dietrich Weiss on the edge, setting the edge, has been all the
difference for this team. And it's allowed guys like Keon White as a rookie to be able to grow
into his own. It's allowed him to sustain the loss of someone like a Matthew Judon in the middle part
of that defense, who really is the heart and soul of this defense. You can make the argument that
he's their best player. And the Patriots defense has looked strong without him because of that
push from the defensive
front Jelani Tavias stepped up big time he's been a huge bright spot for this team there haven't been
a lot of them in New England this year but Jelani has been and they're getting contribution the
secondary has had their sputters without Christian Gonzalez that was expected but the guys that are
stepping up game after game are making plays when they need to.
So this defense right now for New England, I think, is really playing at a level that should be a contender's level.
If they had a more competent offense on a compliment to them, this might be a different story that we're talking about here in New England.
That's how good they've been.
And unfortunately, they're getting lost in the shuffle of what has been an abysmal offensive output for the Patriots.
That tends to happen when things aren't going right elsewhere, that the things that people are doing good on a team can get overlooked.
And I think that's certainly what's been going on when I've looked at the Patriots just at the time that I've been able to spend looking at them to get ready for this game.
I'm like, man, they do things well on defense.
You know, the Steelers, they want to run the ball. So that's going to be, I think, a big part of this
game is, you know, the Steelers, especially with Mitch Trubisky, they're going to be looking to
run the football. And last week was the first time in the past five weeks, the four weeks before that
they didn't rush for at least 150 yards. They still got 130. And part of that, I think, was because they got away from the run
because they fell behind against the Cardinals
and then tried to play catch-up with Trubisky.
But that's going to be a key element of this game, I think.
It's going to be both teams are going to be trying to control the trenches,
control the line of scrimmage.
And on the flip side, I assume that's going to be something
that the Patriots try to do.
You still got Ezekiel Elliott, who Mike Tomlin was highlighting this week during his Tuesday press or his Monday press
conference this week. And the Steelers defense, they haven't put together the whole stats across
the board to stop the run, but they've done it, I think, in the right spots for most of this season
where they've limited teams from running the ball when they've needed to control the game for their defense to take over.
And that's really how they've won all their games this year.
Their defense has either created turnovers and scored points themselves
or they've held teams in check just enough for the offense
to be able to go out there and make enough plays to win the game.
And I think that's what the Steelers are looking at here.
You talked about the Patriots offensive line.
The Steelers defensive front isn't just TJ Watt and Cam Hayward anymore.
Alex Highsmith has been playing well.
They've also really liked that they've gotten out a rookie Keanu Benton,
who I highlighted in our grade segment this week on our Tuesday episode,
where I was telling people like Keanu Benton,
he could end up being like the next Cam Hayward
with the way that he's playing in this rookie season for the Steelers.
And that's a long say because Cam Hayward's also an amazing captain
and a humanitarian and all the things that he does.
But Keanu Benton has been a force on that defensive line.
And I think it's kind of energized the group to work better as a whole.
And that's, again, where it's going to come down to is which i think this game could very simply come down to which defensive front is more disruptive
in this game like both against the run and the past if the uh if the patriots defensive front
you know with with gacha with lawrence guy with wise uh and guys like that if they're able to
create more problems for this for the Steelers in the backfield,
then the Steelers are able to create problems for the Patriots.
That could very well flip the game in the Patriots favor,
especially because,
you know,
I don't think either of these teams are trying to live in the air in this
game.
They want to be able to win sparingly in the air,
but for the most part,
control the clock,
control the game,
win time of possession and run the football and stay ahead of the chains that's where i think both of these things are going to focus and i
think it's going to come down to the defensive fronts seeing who can make more plays in those
situations yeah without question and that's been an area where the new england patriots have been
very uh suspect on the offensive side of the ball trying to protect against a fearsome defensive
front some of the matchups I'm watching this week,
you mentioned obviously T.J. Watt.
He's going to be someone that always commands the attention.
So can Michael Wainu on the right side be able to stand up and play a strong game?
He had his worst game, I think, of the season.
Maybe his worst game as a Patriot against the Chargers.
He had a lot of season-high five quarterback pressures,
a lot of sack, mostly against Khalil Mack.
So you're talking about now Khalil Mack and TJ Watt.
That's rarefied air for defenders.
Those are some of the best in the league.
So that's going to be worth monitoring without any question.
If Awainu was able to stand up against that matchup,
it says a lot about his ability to play tackle moving forward.
If not, New England's got yet another question to answer in this offseason.
But you mentioned Alex Highsmith and you mentioned Cam Hayward and Keanu Benton. It's going to be
whether or not the interior of this offensive line can contain those guys, particularly Cole
Strange, who from what I've seen on film, looks like he's going to be matched up with Cam Hayward
a little bit more at the defensive tackle position. Strange has had a up-and-down season.
There haven't been a whole lot of highlights,
but when he is solid, he's able to anchor,
and he's able to ward off a very strong defensive tackle.
And if Hayward can get the best of him,
that means ultimately that the New England Patriots
are not going to be able to run the ball effectively.
And that's going to be a problem to begin with
with Ramondre Stevenson on the shelf. Ezekiel Elliottott is capable of carrying the load he's a strong running back but don't
forget the patriots went from two complementary strong running backs with each other probably
down to one now and i say that with no disrespect to kevin harris or to ty montgomery or uh possibly
even jamaical hasey if he gets in there. New England right now is not equipped to run the football the way they were
just a few days ago with a healthy Ramondre Stevenson.
So, again, it puts so much pressure on this offensive line to be able to do it.
On the defensive side of the ball, a little more confident because of the efforts
I've described earlier, but to me it's still going to come down, I think,
to whether or not this offensive line is capable of warding off that Steelers defensive front. If they can't do it, it's not going to matter what
the Patriots do with the skill positions. They're not going to win the battles in the trenches,
and it's not going to be a pretty one for the New England Patriots.
The one thing also to look for in this game with coach of defensive fronts is the Steelers
quarterback on defense, and that's their inside linebackers. They were down to their third guy
in a Landon Roberts, Cole Holcomb, a guy that they paid the most money to come in got hurt and knocked
out for the season like the week before uh that the trading the trade deadline and then the week
after the trade deadline uh they lost kwan alexander who was another guy they brought in
then they were down to a landon roberts as their lone guy but he had been playing phenomenal he'd
been flying all over the field keeping everyone on pace and like there were Steelers who were Steelers were like Steelers fans were like man
that guy's like a pro bowl player with the way he is and like you know he's not electric and
taking over but he is he was essential to kind of being the glue that allowed the playmakers in the
secondary the Steelers had to kind of stay up to up to pace with what the defensive front was doing
and also keeping in line the backup linebackers that they're pulling off the practice squad to fill in for all the other injuries they have.
But then last week, Landon Roberts went down.
And, you know, if you look at the tape of it, if you talk to Steelers,
him going down caused a lot of communication problems on defense
because they had to rely on practice squad player Michael Walker.
And they also had to rely upon, you know, second-year player,
seventh-round draft pick Mark
Robinson and there were a lot of deficiencies over the middle there and that could be a quick
question here now the thing the good news for the Steelers fans and Landon Roberts did practice
on uh on on Tuesday so there's a chance that he's able to to be ready for this game I also get the
sense that they might be prepping up Blake Martinez, a recent free agent signing to kind of be that number two inside linebacker to kind of give them more of a cushion
for if another injury were to occur in this game. And that's going to be a big part of this because
if you're looking for easy throws for quick things, you want to attack over the middle,
get quick passes off, try to make things simpler for Bailey Zappi. And that's where Kyler
McMurray was able to attack. He went to Trey McBride a lot out of the tight end position
and was going up and started doing that when Landon Roberts went out the game.
So I think that's going to be another big part of this is not necessarily deep shots downfield,
but the intermediate shots over the middle that might move the chain for the Patriots.
How many times can the Steelers limit them?
They allowed the Cardinals to convert 10 of 17 third downs last week,
and that's something that the defense has talked a lot about this week,
about saying how it was unacceptable and something that they have to be better at.
Yeah, absolutely, and New England has been absolutely futile
in being able to convert third downs on the offensive side of the ball.
It's been literally one of the keys to victory each and every week,
and New England still continues to fail to do so.
And Alandon Roberts is definitely a name that New England Patriots fans know well.
I had the privilege of covering him a couple of years here up in New England.
He defined the term, do your job, because whatever they needed him to do,
he did it, and he did it at a high level.
And he continues to do that no matter the stops that he's made since, whether it be Miami or now in Pittsburgh, he's continuing
that mantra. So it's good to see Landon do well. You just don't want to see his name too often on
a stat sheet making plays against the Patriots because ultimately that'll mean that the Pats
are not doing their job in trying to move the football. But that's a great point about
Pittsburgh's defense being solid in all levels of that defense.
If you're able to beat the defensive front, if you have the good fortune to do that,
it doesn't mean that your problems are over.
There are so many ways that this team can beat you.
New England needs a solid game plan in order to be able to attack it.
And the question is, do they have the horses in in stable alongside Bailey Zappi to carry that out?
That's a big question.
It's a big question.
We'll get to how these questions apply in the matchups and our predictions
here for Thursday night football on crossover Thursday here in the locked
on podcast network,
Chris Carter,
Mike debate here talking locked on Steelers and locked on Patriots.
But first we will remind you, this show is brought to you by Skylight Frames. If you're
looking for a meaningful gift this holiday season that your loved ones will actually use and enjoy,
you can shop for that person that's tough to get the right gift for by getting them the Skylight
Digital Picture Frame. It's the most personal and thoughtful gift that's easy to personalize
for this holiday season. It takes the stress out of holiday shopping and lets you take advantage of this easy to gift opportunity that everyone will think you
spend hours personalizing. It's the Skylight digital picture frame. Skylight is a touchscreen
photo frame that you can send photos to straight from your phone and they appear in just seconds.
You can even preload photos before the box is open so when it's unwrapped and plugged in,
your most treasured memories will appear.
The perfect gift for everyone, and it's satisfaction guaranteed.
They're so confident that you'll love Skylight,
they're offering free 120-day returns. It's a top-rated brand with over a million happy customers,
thousands of five-star reviews, and available in over 30 countries.
Recommended by The Today Show, Forbes, New York Magazine, and more.
As a special limited time offer for our listeners,
you get $15 off your purchase of a Skylight Frame
when you go to skylightframe.com slash locked on.
That's $15 off your purchase of a Skylight Frame
by going to skylightframe.com slash locked on.
That's S-K-Y-L-I-G-H-T-F-R-A-M-E dot com slash locked on.
Back here on Crossover Thursday here in the Locked On Podcast Network,
Locked On Steelers, Locked On Patriots.
All right, Mike, we've talked about what these sides do.
If there's a main factor that the Patriots need to achieve to win this game,
is it purely just running the ball, or is there something else that you're looking at here if they could do this
one thing that might get that might give them the edge to win Thursday night I would normally say
running the football but I think that's kind of a moot point with Ramondre Stevenson being on the
shelf it's a lot to put on Ezekiel Elliott's shoulders to expect them to come in and carry
the load my key to victory for the New England Patriots, and really what it has been all
season long, is maximize your time of possession. That's something they have not done. Overall,
last week, New England ran 11 offensive series. Eight of those ended in punts. Two resulted in
turnovers on downs. And then you also have the final drive, if you want to call it that, going into halftime for New England.
You can't do that.
New England possessed the ball for 31 minutes and 10 seconds last week.
Patriots failed to advance the ball into the red zone even once.
So that's not going to cut it in any stretch of the imagination.
You're playing against NFL quality football.
You're going to end up on the losing side more often than not if that's the norm.
And it doesn't surprise you that the New England Patriots are a 2-10 football team right now
when you hear that. The Stars should be in alignment for New England, but they've made
nothing easy this season. And that's what worries me about a possible defensive breakdown,
even though a lot of people are saying, well, Pittsburgh's offense is going to be a shell of what it usually is with Trubisky
under center and Najee Harris maybe banged up a little bit.
This is a team that still has quality playmakers, something that the New England Patriots are
devoid of right now, especially in the pass catcher department.
Deontay Johnson, George Pickens, they present matchup problems for this team in the
secondary Jonathan Jones is very good as a cover corner and so is JC Jackson but they've been known
to yield coverage this year a little bit more than they have in the past JC because he's still
getting used to the New England system once again and Jonathan because he's been banged up and really
been injured for the better part of the season that's going to be a tough matchup for them.
And also, that prior move for the tight end, can Kyle Duggar continue to provide blanket
coverage on the tight ends?
Or is he going to need some help from guys like Jabril Peppers, maybe even a Jalen Mills
coming over and helping to defend?
If they can start drawing their defenders, meaning Pittsburgh, drawing New England's
defenders away from their
customary and comfortable positions, that's where you can start scoring against this defense. If the
offense can't continue to sustain drives and you get a lot of three and outs and the defense finds
itself getting tired very early in this game, that's where Pittsburgh can go to work. And that's
where New England Patriots fans should be worried defensively about this game
not necessarily about just the matchups on the field but stamina and being able to sustain
it's a lot to ask a defense that's already given you everything they possibly can this year
I think part of this also because I agree time possession is huge uh the Steelers that the their
game against the Bengals for the first time that they really like won time of possession you know
they've they've won including last week they won marginally where like it's been like 30 and like
like 40 30 minutes and 40 seconds versus 29 minutes and 20 seconds uh a few times this year
but their game against the Bengals they actually had like 37 minutes with the ball and that was
like a sign like oh if they can possess the football they can win a lot more they can win
a lot more games because the defense won't be tired and it was very rare the defense wasn't
tired at the end of the game
for the Steelers.
That's definitely going to be a factor here.
I look also at turnovers here because the Steelers have been a team that's
been defined by turnovers.
They're 0-3 when they lose the turnover battle and that got patted onto
because they lost the turnover battle last week.
I believe they are 6-2 when they win the turnover battle. week. I believe they are six and two when they tie the turn,
when they tie in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in,
in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, in, like you said, taking teams out of comfort zones, forcing the offense to make riskier moves.
Who can get them to blink first in that situation?
That's where I think there's going to be a big difference.
Without further ado, Mike, give us your biggest factor that leads into your final score prediction
and what your final score prediction is for this game.
Yeah, I think the Patriots keep this one close for the reason you just said, Chris, turnovers.
I think Bailey Zappi is a better quarterback at protecting the football than Mac Jones had become. Maybe not inherently skill set wise, but at least in the
mental makeup, Bailey has been much better this year. So they'll continue to keep this close.
But ultimately, I think that Pat's defense is going to do its part. But late in the game,
you may see some breakdowns. And that's where I think Pittsburgh pulls ahead. I think the offense
has trouble moving the ball against this Pittsburgh defense.
I think the Steelers take this one by a final of 14-10.
Not going to be an offensive pretty battle in my estimation,
but the Steelers do enough to get the home win.
I got the Steelers winning 13-9.
Similar reasons just going to come down in a crazy way.
And those who know what I'm saying with 13, nine, shout out to your boy.
But anyways,
it's been a great crossover Thursday here in the lockdown podcast network.
Mike,
it's always great to do shows.
You've been letting people know you can find you,
follow you,
get more of your work.
Oh,
thank you,
my friend.
Always an honor to cross the streams with you on lockdown Steelers,
locked on Patriots,
two teams and two franchises and two fan bases with a lot of history,
but a lot of respect as well.
If you want to find where I'm doing things for Locked On Patriots,
free and available on all platforms, including YouTube,
just like Locked On Steelers, definitely check me out there.
All my written work can be found at Patriots Country, a fan nation,
Upsports Illustrated.
You can catch all the game previews and anything I have on my mind
jotted down in written form in that medium as well.
Absolutely.
I'm Chris Carter.
Find me on Twitter and Instagram at Carter critiques.
Read my work at the Pittsburgh post Gazette post dash Gazette.com.
Find me here on the lockdown Steelers podcast.
Just like you find Mike on lockdown Patriots by searching us just on your
favorite podcasting app or on YouTube.
Like this video.
If you enjoy it,
subscribe to this channel and get all of your daily Monday through Friday
episodes.
We're both back tomorrow.
As we recap,
what happened in this game Thursday night football.
We'll see you here right on Locked On Steelers and Locked On Patriots here on the Locked
On Podcast Network.