The Steelers dominated the Patriots on the field yesterday, if not the scoreboard.  Ben Roethlisberger completed 36 of 50 passes (72%) for 365 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Rashard Mendenhall led the way on the ground for the Steelers in this game with 70 yards rushing on 13 carries (5.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 22 yards (7.3 avg).  Mewelde Moore only carried the ball 1 time but it was good for 16 yards.  He also caught 2 passes for 29 yards (14.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Roethlisberger spread the ball around alot yesterday to keep everyone involved.  TE Heath Miller (7 rec, 85 yards), WR Mike Wallace (7 rec, 70 yards), WR Emmanuel Sanders (5 rec, 70 yards) and WR Antonio Brown (9 rec, 67 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Steelers.  The Steelers rushed for 98 yards on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 36 of 50 passes (72%) for 329 yards as they had possession of the ball for 39:22 in this game.

The defense was outstanding for the Steelers last night.  Safety Ryan Clark (8 tackles), LB Larry Foote (8 tackles) and CB Ike Taylor (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Steelers on D yesterday.  OLB LaMarr Woodley (2 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 3 QB hits) played well before he left the game with a hamstring injury.  The Patriots finished up with 43 yards rushing on 12 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 170 yards in this game.  The Steelers are now 6-2 on the year.

The Steelers are looking to exorcise some demons tomorrow at Heinz Field.  The Patriots are coming in for a visit and Tom Brady is 6-1 (4-1 at Heinz Field) in his career against the Steelers.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers probably don’t want to engage the Patriots in a fire fight.  Look for them to try to control the ball and the clock but trying to establish a running game with Rashard Mendenhall.  The Patriots don’t have much of a pass rush, so maybe the Steelers’ O-Line will be able to keep them out of the backfield.  Ben Roethlisberger could have a lot of success throwing against the Patriots’ secondary (they are giving up 322.2 yards passing per game).  The Patriots will likely be dropping seven players into coverage, so Roethlisberger can’t afford to be sloppy with the football tomorrow.

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Patriots are going to spread the field and let Tom Brady throw to where the mis-matches are.  This is not a good team for the Steelers to be playing right now, because Tom Brady’s line is good at keeping him clean.  He always tears the Steelers’ defense up and I don’t think tomorrow will be any different.  TEs Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski are too fast for LBs to cover and they are too big for the Steelers’ safeties to deal with.  WRs Wes Welker and Deion Branch also are going to give the Steelers’ CBs fits in this game.  If the Steelers put too many DBs on the field, Brady will turn around and hand the ball off to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, who is one of the more underrated RBs in the NFL.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 38, STEELERS 27

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a very talented group of WRs.  It all starts with the speedster Mike Wallace.  He has caught 36 passes for 730 yards (20.3 avg) with 5 TD grabs already this year.  A lot of his TDs are long ones.  Antonio Brown is another speedster on the Steelers but he’s a tad inconsistent.  Brown has caught 25 passes for 364 yards (14.6 avg) so far this year.  The Steelers are starting to phase out Hines Ward.  Ward has caught 26 passes for 258 yards (9.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs this year.  Emmanuel Sanders, despite not being used a whole lot, has been productive.  He has caught 13 passes for 173 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this year.  The Steelers need this quartet to keep playing well.

The Steelers really moved the ball well offensively yesterday and they were the big reason for the nice road win.  Ben Roethlisberger was excellent yesterday as he completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) for 361 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Rashard Mendenhall led the way on the ground for the Steelers yesterday with only 32 yards rushing on 13 carries (2.5 ypc).  Isaac Redman (6 carries for 29 yards) and Mewelde Moore (6 carries for 26 yards) also pitched in for the Steelers on the ground.  WRs Mike Wallace (3 rec, 118 yards, TD) and Antonio Brown (7 rec, 102 yards) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game.  TE Heath Miller (4 rec, 59 yards, TD) and WR Emmanuel Sanders (5 rec, 46 yards, TD) also had solid games for the Steelers.  The Steelers finished up with 91 yards rushing on 28 carries (3.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 39 passes (66.7%) for 354 yards as they had possession of the ball for 35:47.

The defense was solid for the most part for the Steelers yesterday.  OLB LaMarr Woodley led the way for the Steelers’ D in this game with 7 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  DT Steve McClendon (5 tackles) and safety Ryan Clark (4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) also had solid games for the Steelers on D.  The Cardinals finished up with 73 yards rushing on 19 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 34 passes (52.9%) for 257 yards.  The Steelers are now 5-2 on the season.

This is a big game for the Steelers because the Cardinals are the last creampuff they play for a while.  The Steelers have won two games in a row, but they go back on the road where they are 1-2 on the season.  Cardinals’ head coach Ken Whisenhunt and his coaching staff know a lot more about the Steelers’ than any coaching staff in the league, so the Steelers can’t overlook them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are going to attempt to run the ball a lot this weekend with Rashard Mendenhall against a Cardinals’ D that is allowing 118.8 yards rushing per game but only 3.9 yards per carry.  If the O-Line can give Ben Roethlisberger time to throw the ball (and they should against the Cardinals), he could have a really solid game tomorrow afternoon.  The Cardinals are giving up 258.2 yards passing per game so far this year, so Mike Wallace, Hines Ward and Antonio Brown could be in for big games this weekend.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are a pass first team, but they need to protect Kevin Kolb if they are going to have any success throwing the ball.  The Steelers are going to be a blitz heavy bunch tomorrow in an effort to force Kolb into making some mistakes with the ball.  The Steelers will likely double cover Larry Fitzgerald and dare Kolb to beat them by throwing to someone else.  Chris “Beanie” Wells is likely to give the Steelers’ fits in this game as they are giving up 112.8 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry so far this year.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 30, CARDINALS 13

The Steelers have amped up the running game lately and that has taken a lot of pressure off of Ben Roethlisberger.  Rashard Mendenhall is leading the way for the Steelers on the ground so far this year.  He has played in five games for the Steelers in 2011 and he has carried the ball 81 times for 319 yards (3.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  Mendenhall has also caught 5 passes for 21 yards (4.2 avg) this year.  Isaac Redman has played in all six games for the Steelers in 2011 and he has carried the ball 41 times for 178 yards (4.3 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 6 passes for 32 yards (5.3 avg).  Jonathan Dwyer has been super impressive when he has gotten a chance to play this year.  Dwyer has played in 2 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has carried the ball 13 times for 115 yards (8.8 ypc).  Dwyer also has 1 catch for six yards this year.  Mewelde Moore has played in four games this year and he has carried the ball 6 times for 43 yards (7.2 ypc) and he has also caught 4 passes for 61 yards (15.3 avg) this year.  The Steelers need to keep running the ball well to slow down the opposing pass rush.  They are averaging 122.3 yards rushing so far this year and they are averaging 4.6 yards per carry

The Pittsburgh Steelers led this game 17-3 at the half and they called off the dogs way too early.  The Jaguars took at shot at the end zone on the last play of the game, but it fell incomplete.  Ben Roethlisberger was a game manager in this game as he completed 12 of 23 passes for 200 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 9 yards (3.0 ypc).  Rashard Mendenhall was the main man offensively for the Steelers yesterday as he carried the ball 23 times for 146 yards (6.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Isaac Redman pitched in with 4 carries for 22 yards (5.5 ypc) in this game.  WR Mike Wallace (2 rec, 76 yards, TD), TE Heath Miller (4 rec, 27 yards) and WR Hines Ward (3 rec, 47 yards) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game yesterday.  The Steelers finished up with 185 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.8 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 23 passes (52.2%) for 185 yards as they had possession of the ball for 30:13.

The defense was pretty solid for the most part for the Steelers yesterday.  LB James Farrior (11 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 QB hit) and safety Ryan Clark (10 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Steelers’ D in this game.  OLB LaMarr Woodley (8 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) and DE Brett Keisel (6 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits) also made big plays on D for the Steelers in this game.  The Jaguars rushed for 133 yards on 30 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 26 passes (46.2%) for 76 yards in this game.  The Steelers are now 4-2 on the year.

The Steelers appear to be back on the right track after demolishing the Titans last weekend at Heinz Field.  The Steelers get another home game this weekend against the hapless Jacksonville Jaguars, who have been outscored 48-13 in their two road losses this year.  The Steelers are 2-0 at home this year and they have outscored the competition by a combined score of 62-17.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Steelers are going to come out throwing the ball against the Jaguars.  The Jaguars only have 8 sacks so far this year, so Ben Roethlisberger might actually have some time to throw the ball this weekend.  Look for “Big Ben” to spread the ball around to Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Antonio Brown and Heath Miller in the passing game to keep everyone healthy.  Rashard Mendenhall is back this weekend but the Steelers should watch his workload in his first game back from injury.  That means and Johnathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman should each get a few touches this weekend.

When the Jaguars have the ball:  The Steelers have not defended the running game too well this year, so the Jaguars are likely to give the ball to Maurice Jones-Drew a lot in this game.  He is likely to get the undivided attention of the Steelers’ front seven this Sunday.  Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert has been sacked 9 times already this year, so look for the Steelers to come out of the locker room blitzing in an effort to force him into making some mistakes with the football.  Gabbert has been throwing the ball down the field to WRs Jason Hill and Mike Thomas, so the Steelers’ corners need to step up this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 24, JAGUARS 6

29-year old QB Ben Roethlisberger was outstanding against the Titans and it caused his overall numbers to take a nice spike upwards.  He has played in all 5 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has completed 109 of 172 passes (63.4%) for 1,376 yards with 8 TD passes and 6 INTs (89.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards (3.3 ypc) so far this year.  If Roethlisberger continues to protect the foobtall like he did against the Titans last Sunday, the Steelers’ offense might be ready to truly take off.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were outstanding on both sides of the ball today.  Ben Roethlisberger was outstanding today as he completed 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards with 5 TD passes and 1 interception.  Punter Daniel Sepulveda completed a 33 yard pass on a fake punt and is was pretty.  Jonathan Dwyer led the way on the ground for the Steelers today as he had true breakout game.  He carried the ball 11 times for 107 yards (9.7 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 6 yards.  Isaac Redman pitched in with 15 carries for 49 yards (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 12 yards (4.0 avg).  WR Mike Wallace (6 rec, 82 yards, TD), WR Hines Ward (7 rec, 54 yards, 2 TD grabs), TE Heath Miller (3 rec, 46 yards, TD) and FB/TE David Johnson (2 rec, 5 yards, TD) led the way for the Steelers in the passing game today.  The Steelers finished up with 174 yards rushing on 28 carries (6.2 ypc) and they also completed 25 of 35 passes (71.4%) for 174 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:22.

The defense was very solid for the Steelers today.  LB James Farrior (13 tackles, 1 pass defensed) and safety Troy Polamalu (9 tackles and 3 passes defensed) led the way for the Steelers on D in this game.  OLB LaMarr Woodley pitched in with 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 2 QB hits and a interception) also was all over the place for the Steelers today.  The Titans finished up with 66 yards rushing on 18 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 29 of 49 passes (59.2%) for 240 yards.  The Steelers are now 3-2 on the season.