With a Week 1 meeting with the Patriots looming, Steelers fans’ confidence wavers

The past few seasons the Pittsburgh Steelers have opened the season with the Cleveland Browns on the schedule. Those seasons the Browns were considered push overs and the Steelers were usually able to skate through Week 1 with an easy win.

In 2019 the Steelers don’t have a cake walk ahead of them. No, they have a much taller task when they travel to Foxborough to play the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football, as the Patriots hoist their sixth Super Bowl banner in front of a sellout crowd.

Talk about completely opposite ends of the spectrum regarding opening week games.

Players won’t find anything wrong with traveling on the first week of the season, but the usually cocky Steelers fan base has some serious insecurities when facing the Patriots. The Steelers have only beaten the Patriots once in the past six games, and haven’t won in Gillette Stadium since 2008 when Matt Cassel, not Tom Brady, was the quarterback.

Yes, for Steelers fans the Patriots have been the dragon they just can’t slay and make it count. In this instance, it would make sense the Steelers faithful have a dip in their confidence heading into Week 1.

Check the SB Nation FanPulse graph below:

But should they have waning confidence?

The Steelers played well enough to beat the Patriots the past two attempts, although both have been at Heinz Field, and most would consider the Steelers to be playing with “house money” in prime time this weekend. In other words, no one outside of the Steelers organization and fan base expect the Steelers to come away with a victory. Not against Brady in their house, and certainly not in the game where they unveil their latest championship trophy.

With that said, the new-look Steelers should find some solace in knowing they have an offense which hasn’t been seen before, and a defense with athleticism and speed to boot. While these Patriots aren’t your usual Patriots, these Steelers aren’t your usual Steelers.

Buckle up fans, this game Sunday night could be a good one!

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