The New England Patriots couldn’t do much yesterday as the Steelers were ball hogs.  Tom Brady completed 24 of 35 passes for 198 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 INTs.  Kevin Faulk carried the ball 6 times for 32 yards (5.3 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 20 yards (4.0 avg) against the Steelers yesterday.  TE Rob Gronkowski (7 rec, 94 yards) and WR Wes Welker (6 rec, 39 yards) led the way for the Patriots in the passing game yesterday.  WR Deion Branch (4 rec, 36 yards, TD) and TE Aaron Hernandez (2 rec, 9 yards, TD) also pitched in for the Patriots in the passing game.  The Patriots rushed for 43 yards on 12 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 24 of 35 passes (68.6%) for 170 yards despite only having possession of the ball for 20:38.

The Steelers had a lot of long drives yesterday as they were content on throwing short passes.  Safety Patrick Chung (13 tackles, 1 pass defensed), LB Brandon Spikes (12 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed) and CB Devin McCourty (11 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Patriots’ D in this game.  DE Andre Carter (5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit) and LB Gary Guyton (interception) also made big plays in this game for the Patriots.  The Steelers finished up with 98 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 36 of 50 passes (72%) for 329 yards.  The Patriots are now 5-2 on the season.

The Patriots have lost 23-year old rookie cornerback Ras-I Dowling for the rest of the season.  They have placed him in the Injured Reserve List due to a hip injury that resulted from a torn tendon in his leg.  Dowling played in 2 games for the Patriots this year and he had 3 tackles.  This is a big loss for the Patriots as they were hoping that the would step up later this year.

The New England Patriots are invading Heinz Field tomorrow against a team they have owned recently.  Tom Brady is 6-1 in his career against the Steelers and he is 4-1 at Heinz Field.  The Patriots are coming off a bye week, so they have had two weeks to prepare for the Steelers.  The Steelers have won three games in a row, but cupcake time is officially over tomorrow for them.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the ball:  The Steelers’ defense is vastly overrated this year.  They are giving up 4.5 yards per carry and QBs have a 81.0 rating against them.  The Patriots will likely be pass heavy in this game, with Tom Brady taking a lot of short drops to negate the Steelers’ pass rush.  It doesn’t hurt the the Patriots have a lot of tough guys (Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski and Deion Branch) who don’t mind catching short passes and taking hits while getting yards after the catch.  The Patriots will also likely give the ball to BenJarvus Green-Ellis quite a bit to keep the Steelers’ D honest.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Patriots’ defense has been pretty awful this year.  They could be in trouble tomorrow.  But, I’m sure that Coach Belichick will have some new wrinkles for the Steelers tomorrow, as he has had two weeks to get ready for them.  The Steelers might decide to run the ball a lot in an effort to keep the ball away from the Patriots.  That means the front seven (which has played better against the run as of late), will have to deal with Rashard Mendenhall.  The Patriots will also only likely go after Ben Roethlisberger with the front seven against the awful O-Line of the Steelers.  If they can get pressure on Roethlisberger, he will make mistakes with the ball.  But the Patriots will have to give help over the top to whoever is covering Mike Wallace as he is a true game breaking WR.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 38, STEELERS 27

The Patriots have waived 30-year old cornerback Leigh Bodden.  Bodden played in 5 games for the Patriots last year and he had 17 tackles and 4 passes defensed.  Bodden played in 20 games in his two years with the Patriots and he had 72 tackles, 5 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), defensed 22 passes, forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and he had 1 tackle for a loss.  This was a surprising move, especially when you consider that they are playing the Steelers this weekend.

Wes Welker has been amazing once again this year for the Patriots.  Welker has caught 51 passes for 785 yards (15.4 avg) with 6 TD grabs so far this year.  Deion Branch has proven that he has a lot left in the gas tank so far this year.  He has caught 26 passes for 369 yards (14.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Chad Ocho Cinco has been a huge disappointment so far this year for the Patriots as he still hasn’t learned the whole playbook yet.  Ocho Cinco has caught 9 passes for 136 yards (15.1 avg) so far this year, and that’s not good enough to get on the field much for the Patriots.  Julian Edelman (3 rec, 25 yards) and Matthew Slater (1 rec, 46 yards) have talent but they have not gotten much of a chance to show what they can do so far this year.

The New England Patriots are starting to get really solid ground support lately from the RBs.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis is the leader of the pack for the Patriots’ RBs.  He has played in all six games for the Patriots so far this year and he has carried the ball 91 times for 391 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He has also caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5 avg) so far this year.  Rookie Stevan Ridley is no longer really pushing Green-Ellis for carries, but he is playing well so far this year.  Ridley has played in all six games for the Patriots so far this year and he has carried the ball 28 times for 180 yards (6.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 2 passes for 11 yards (5.5 avg) so far this year.  Danny Woodhead has been dinged up lately.  He has played in five games for the Patriots so far this year and he has carried the ball 30 times for 122 yards (4.1 ypc).  He has also caught 8 passes for 63 yards (7.9 avg) so far in 2011.  The Patriots are now averaging 124.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry, as they are starting to make teams pay for using extra DBs.

Tom Brady worked his late game magic yesterday once again.  He got the ball back with barely 2 minutes left in the game and he drove his team right down the field.  Brady connected with TE Aaron Hernandez for the game winning 8 yard TD pass with only 22 seconds left in this game!  Brady completed 27 of 41 passes for 289 yards with 2 TD passes and 2 INTs in this game.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 17 yards (4.3 ypc) in this game.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis led the way on the ground for the Patriots yesterday with 58 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.1 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 11 yards in this game.  Rookie RB Stevan Ridley pitched in with 19 yards rushing on 3 carries (6.3 ypc) in this game.  Danny Woodhead played in this game (he wasn’t supposed to) and he carried the ball 4 times for 7 yards (1.8 ypc).  He also caught 2 passes for 22 yards (11.0 avg) in this game.  TE Aaron Hernandez (8 rec, 68 yards, TD) and WR Wes Welker (6 rec, 45 yards, TD) led the way for the Patriots in the passing game yesterday.  TE Rob Gronkowski (7 rec, 74 yards) and WR Deion Branch (3 rec, 69 yards) also pitched in for the Patriots in this game.  The Patriots finished up with 101 yards rushing on 25 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) for 270 yards as they had possession of the ball for 27:11.

The Patriots were bending but not breaking on defense yesterday.  CB Kyle Arrington (11 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception), LB Gary Guyton (10 tackles) and safety Patrick Chung (10 tackles) led the way for the Patriots on D in this game.  LB Brandon Spikes (8 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss), DE Andre Carter (5 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits) and DT Gerard Warren (fumble recovery) also made an impact on this game for the Patriots.  The Cowboys finished up with 77 yards rushing on 24 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 41 passes (65.9%) for 300 yards.  The Patriots are now 5-1 on the season.

The New England Patriots have been rolling this year and they always play well at home.  The Cowboys have had two weeks to get ready for the Patriots and their defensive co-ordinator came up with an outstanding game plan to stop Tom Brady last year when he coached the Browns.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Patriots have the football:  The Patriots are going to try to mix in the run just enough to attempt to keep the Cowboys’ D honest.  The Cowboys are only giving up 61.8 yards rushing per game and 3.1 yards per carry so far this year, so it makes perfect sense to turn Tom Brady and his receivers loose this Sunday.  The Cowboys have issues in the secondary, so look for Brady to throw to whoever has the mis-match.  Wes Welker, Deion Branch, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez are all outstanding targets for Brady.

When the Cowboys have the ball:  The Cowboys are a passing team, plain and simple.  Tony Romo has made more than his fair share of mistakes when opposing a team with a good pass rush.  With that in mind, look for the Patriots to blitz far more often than usual in this game.  WRs Miles Austin, Dez Bryant and TE Jason Witten are going to be big time matchup problems for the Patriots’ secondary.  The Patriots hope that their front seven can handle stopping Felix Jones and the rest of the Cowboys’ RBs tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  PATRIOTS 31, COWBOYS 27

The Patriots have signed 27-year old DT Marcus Harrison.  Harrison played in 5 games for the Bears in 2010 and he had 3 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  He has now played in 37 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has 55 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 passes defensed and 5 tackles for a loss.  This was a good signing for the Patriots as Harrison will replace Mike Wright (I.R.) on the roster.

UPDATE:  The Patriots have waived Marcus Harrison after he only spent one day on the roster.

The Patriots have placed 29-year old DT Mike Wright on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to a concussion.  Wright played in 1 game for the Patriots this year and he had 1 tackle and 1/2 a sack.  He has now played in 81 games in his first seven years with the Patriots and he has 134 tackles, 15 sacks, 5 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  This is going to hurt the depth on the D-Line for the Patriots.