5 Steelers Burning Questions heading into the Week 1 game vs. the Patriots

Steelers vs. Patriots.

This game has been hyped up for months, and the two teams battling it out has almost become a yearly occurrence for one reason or another. The two teams met in 2018, with the Steelers getting the best of their rivals for the first time in a long time in a classic back-and-forth affair.

Sunday’s game will be in Week 1, not Week 15, and will be held in Gillette Stadium, not Heinz Field. Nonetheless, with these two teams there is never a shortage of story lines or questions heading into the game.

I’ve narrowed it down to 5 Burning Questions, and would like to know your answers! Simply leave a comment in the comment section letting everyone know what your response would be to these questions!

Here we go!

1. What will be more important, stopping the run or getting to Tom Brady?

The Steelers have shown the past two seasons they are more than capable to rush the quarterback. But in doing so sometimes they sell out and are gashed by the run. Which will have more importance this Sunday night?

2. If the Steelers are facing a long field goal in a critical situation of the game, how should they handle Chris Boswell’s range?

Boswell is a player who has had his ups and downs over the past two seasons, and it is difficult to put the horrid 2018 season out of our memories. How should the Steelers handle Boswell in the early stages of the 2019 season?

3. What should the run-to-pass ratio for the Steelers offense look like vs. the Patriots?

We know the Steelers will throw it more than they run it on Sunday Night Football, and this is a trend across the entire NFL. But it doesn’t mean ignoring the run game should be part of the plan. If you were to draw up the perfect ratio of run and pass, what would it be, and why?

4. Will the Steelers be able to stop the run when Devin Bush and Mark Barron are the ILBs on the field?

Bush and Barron have impressed so far throughout the preseason, but will a team like the Patriots be able to impose their will on the smaller, and lighter, linebackers who excel more in coverage and sideline-to-sideline play compared to run stopping?

5. Can the Steelers exploit a banged up, and new, Patriots’ offensive line?

The Patriots have had to do some wheeling and dealing prior to the start of the season along the offensive line, and the Steelers success, or lack thereof, against this patchwork unit has to be one of the biggest questions heading into the game. The outcomes might just decide who wins the game.