Patriots vs. Steelers 2017 live stream: Time, TV schedule, and how to watch online

The race for home-field advantage runs through Pittsburgh in Week 15. With a win on Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger can ensure the AFC’s road to the Super Bowl passes through the Steel City.

Roethlisberger is coming off one of the finest performances of his career after throwing for 506 yards in a comeback victory over the Ravens Sunday night that clinched the Steelers’ third AFC North title in four years. He’ll have to be similarly prolific Sunday when the Patriots come to town for a battle between the conference’s two best teams. The two AFC giants meet at 4:25 p.m. ET Sunday, broadcast live on CBS (live stream).

Pittsburgh currently has a one-game lead over New England in the AFC standings, but a win in hostile territory would give the Patriots the tiebreaker with just two games left — both at home against AFC East opponents — in the season. The Pats botched their chance to clinch a division title last week when they got skunked by the Dolphins; a victory Sunday would retcon any concerns raised by Monday’s beating.

Don’t be fooled by the final scoreline of the Miami victory, 27-20. This was a thorough beating, almost from the get-go. The Dolphins jumped out to an early lead after a confident scoring drive that led to a field goal, then Xavien Howard picked off Brady to set up another field goal drive. Clearly flustered by a defense that came to play, Brady ended the first quarter with zero pass completions.

The carnage at the top shuffled fortunes and paved the way for new teams to climb to the top of the rankings. That left a golden road for the Steelers to move into the No. 1 spot.

Pittsburgh and Philadelphia currently own the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences, but the Steelers clearly have more reason to feel more confident about their chances.

Since that night, the club has piled up 130 points during the last four games. Previously, they had tallied only 147 in the first seven contests of the season. Why, all of the sudden, this team’s offense is just now showing up is beyond me, but it’s coming at the right time of year.

And with the New England Patriots coming to town in four days, it’s going to be needed.

New England looked awful on Monday night, allowing Jay Cutler to throw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to the Dolphins that wasn’t as close as the final 27-20 score suggests. Brady struggled without Rob Gronkowski in the lineup, throwing only one touchdown pass in an uncharacteristic off night. Gronk is back from his one-game suspension for cheap-shotting Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White, and the Patriots may need him to have his best performance of the year to outgun a Steeler offense that’s finally shifted into high gear.

SB Nation’s panel of experts is rolling with the home team — even if it’s an underdog. Five of our eight writers picked the Steelers to exit Week 15 with a firm grasp on home-field advantage in the AFC.