The New England Patriots will try to snap a five-game losing streak in Thursday’s road trip to Pennsylvania for a primetime clash with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s the tale of two backup quarterbacks with the Patriots likely starting Bailey Zappe for a second straight week under center, while Mitchell Trubisky continues filling in for injured Steelers signal-caller Kenny Pickett.
Both quarterbacks are coming off losses. The Patriots couldn’t even muster a single score against a bad Los Angeles Chargers defense, and the Steelers threw up on themselves in a shocking 24-10 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at Acrisure Stadium.
This game will likely come down to the defenses and special teams play. Can one of those units score points or make a big play that drastically improves field positioning for the struggling offenses?
Keep in mind, the Patriots will be missing both wide receiver Demario Douglas and running back Rhamondre Stevenson for this game. So they’ll be leaning on the proven legs of Ezekiel Elliott, along with hoping Zappe can continue finding connections with wideouts DeVante Parker, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton.
