The Pittsburgh Steelers notched an eight-point victory over the New England Patriots last weekend despite not having receiver Hines Ward on the field due to an injury.
Hines Ward Likes Steelers Receivers Matched Up With Patriots Secondary
Ward had an interesting response when talking this week about the decision not to play last weekend. It seems the Steelers weren’t very intimidated by the Patriots secondary.
"That wasn't the same secondary that we played against a year ago without having Sanders, Meriweather wasn't back there and they let Leigh Bodden go. We kind of liked our matchups. So there was no need for me to try to force it and go."
He's right, and the score on Sunday proves that. Ben Roethlisberger completed 72 percent of his passes and threw for 365 yards. Four receivers had 67 or more yards.
There's an argument that the Patriots have gotten worse since releasing safeties James Sanders and Brandon Meriweather, as well as cornerback Leigh Bodden. They're last in the league against the pass and opponents have gone over 300 passing yards in six of seven games this year. Granted, that's also been because they're winning the game and the opponent passes to catch up but the secondary (and the defense as a whole) is one of the real concerns for this Patriots team.
It’s somewhat surprising to see a bad unit on the Patriots defense considering Bill Belichick is the coach. It’s almost as if he’s stretched too thin.
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