FRIDAY INJURY REPORT
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
No players listed
PITTSBURGH STEELERS
–OUT: T Marcus Gilbert (knee)
–QUESTIONABLE: RB James Conner (ankle), WR/RS Ryan Switzer (ankle)
PLAYER NOTES
–CB Cameron Sutton worked with the first-team defense at slot corner Wednesday. There is a good chance he’ll replace Mike Hilton, who has struggled in coverage the past two games.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: OLB Bud Dupree has to start playing like a first-round pick. The No. 24 overall pick in 2015 has never reached double digits in sacks and is unlikely to do it this season. He has 5.5 through 13 games, and the Steelers need more splash plays from him. The Steelers switched Dupree from the left side of the line to the right in hopes that he could attack the quarterback’s blind side and get more sacks. But they haven’t come as expected. The Steelers picked up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract in May, but it’s hard to see the team paying him more than $9 million for that little production. If Dupree doesn’t make some plays in the final few games the Steelers could rescind the option and use the money on other positions on their roster.
GAME PLAN: Ben Roethlisberger has contused ribs, but the Steelers are going to have to lean on him heavily in order to beat the Patriots. The Steelers haven’t run the ball well for the past month, and they’re likely to be without running back James Conner for at least another week. His replacements – Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley – couldn’t find any open lanes against the Raiders, the worst rush defense in the NFL. Roethlisberger has thrown for more yards than any other quarterback in the league this season, and he’ll have a chance to pad that total against a Patriots defense that gives up an average of 259 yards per game.
The Steelers defense has struggled defending Tom Brady over the years, and Mike Tomlin said he will explore new ideas this week in hopes of having more success. The Steelers have had a particularly tough time defending tight end Rob Gronkowski. The only time the Steelers beat the Patriots since Gronkowski has been in the league was in 2011, when the Steelers used a corner to defend him.
MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
–Steelers Ss Morgan Burnett and Terrell Edmunds vs. Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski. Gronkowski has been a thorn in the Steelers’ side for years. In six career games against the Steelers, he has 664 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. Last season, he had nine receptions for 168 yards, including some crucial catches on the Patriots’ go-ahead touchdown drive late in the game. The Steelers had Sean Davis covering Gronkowski in that game. Davis moved to free safety so Edmunds and Burnett likely draw the assignment this time around, and they haven’t been very good in coverage all season.
–Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster vs. Patriots CB Stephon Gilmore. In previous meetings against the Steelers, the Patriots have doubled Antonio Brown with their No. 2 corner and a safety. Expect the same type of treatment again this year. It will be up to Smith-Schuster to win some matchups against Gilmore, the Patriots’ top cover corner and perhaps their best defender. Smith-Schuster added two more touchdown catches to his resume against the Raiders and he’ll need another big game if the Steelers are going to knock off the Patriots.
