Week 14 preview: Will the Patriots score this week?

The Patriots visit Pittsburgh Thursday night for a prime time "showdown" against the Steelers. Long gone are the days of Tom Brady vs. Ben Roethlisberger. The once great Patriots-Steelers rivalry has been reduced to Bailey Zappe vs. Mitch Trubisky. Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin are the only things that will look familiar. They are the two longest tenured coaches in the NFL. Belichick has coached the Patriots for 23 years. Tomlin has been at the helm of the Steelers for 16 years. One of them is more likely than the other to keep the streak alive next season.

I guess Thursday night football games on Amazon Prime can’t be flexed out, otherwise the Patriots would be playing Sunday at 1 p.m. every time for the rest of the year. The Patriots have been bounced out of two prime time games in the last two seasons much to the chagrin and embarrassment of owner Robert Kraft. It will be one of the numerous reasons this 23rd season for Belichick as head coach of the Patriots will likely be his last.

The Patriots record stands at 2-10. They are currently slotted into the number two position for next year’s draft. Only the Carolina Panthers have a worse record (and they just fired their head coach). The Steelers weren’t expected to do very much this season but have managed to be in the playoff hunt with a 7-5 record in a very competitive AFC North division that doesn’t have a single team under .500.

The Steelers will be without their young starting quarterback Kenny Pickett. Their offense sputtered even when he was on the field. Pittsburgh fired their offensive coordinator on November 21. They rank 28th in the NFL in total offense. 

That is still way better than the Patriots. The Patriots rank dead last in offense and have never come close to showing any signs of life all season. They are yet to have a rusher or receiver have a 100-yard game this year. That is ridiculous after twelve games. And now they will be without their best offensive weapon, Rhamondre Stevenson.

So we have two already bad offenses and two pretty tough defenses. The Steelers are without Kenny Pickett. The Patriots are without Rhamondre Stevenson and, most likely, Demario Douglas.The over/under for points scored by both teams has hovered around 31.5.  It is the lowest over/under this year. In fact, it is the lowest since 2008.  It is way too high if you ask me.

Prediction: Steelers 13, Patriots 0

The Patriots have scored 10 points or less five times this year and they have been shutout twice, both at home. I have gone from telling myself I am not going to pick the Patriots to win any game since the back-to-back drubbings by the Cowboys and Saints to now I am wondering if I will ever predict them to score any points in a game.

It has been comical to me the debate this week as to whether or not Bailey Zappe looked better Sunday against the Chargers than Mac Jones has played this season. The Patriot scored ZERO points against the Chargers. They didn’t get into the red zone once. I don’t care if Zappe didn’t turn the ball over or if he moved around better in the pocket. The team scored ZERO points.

The Steelers aren’t much better, but they are better. Everyone is better. Laugh all you want at backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky but he had the best game of his career against the Patriots in 2018 as a member of the Chicago Bears. He threw for 333 yards and rushed for 81 yards in a 38-31 shootout loss to Brady and the Patriots. 

It will be painful to watch Steelers’ wide receiver George Pickens play against New England. The Patriots could have drafted him instead of Tyquan Thornton in the 2022 draft. Pickens went two picks after the Patriots drafted Thornton in the second round. Pickens has been turning into a bit of a prima donna, but he has been able to back it up. Meanwhile, Thornton is struggling to run right routes and is allowing perfectly thrown deep balls to go right through his hands. Pickens has 44 catches this year. Thornton has 5. One, two, three, four, five.

I would be tempted to give three points to the Patriots, but I don’t have faith that Belichick will trust Chad Ryland to kick any field goals over 30 yards. Again, the Patriots did not even get into the red zone once against the Chargers who have the worst defense in the league. Belichick has bypassed a handful of 50+-yard field goal attempts this year, choosing instead to punt from around the opponents’ 35-yard line.

It is going to be ugly, folks. Ugh, saying folks makes me think of Nick Folk – yet another horrible personnel decision Belichick has made in the last five-plus years. Folk has converted on 24-of-25 field goals this year for the Titans, including 4-of-5 from over 50 yards. The Patriots traded up in the fourth round to draft Ryland last year and traded Folk for a seventh-round draft pick in … 2025. At least we can enjoy our Sunday this week.