The Patriot Problem

By: Joe Smeltzer

The New England Patriots play the game of football well.

That line will probably end up being as obvious as any printed in sportswriting or anywhere else all year. Every person in America knows how good New England is. But what Pittsburgh Steelers fans, in particular, might not notice, or at least not comprehend, is that the Patriots are so good that they have almost single handly skewed the perception that Pittsburgh has of its football team.

Things should be smelling like roses for the Steelers. They are 11-2 and on top of a weak AFC. Aside from the awful Ryan Shazier accident, as well Joe Haden and Marcus Gilbert- both of which figure to be back soon- missing time, the Steelers have been fortunate when it comes to health.  For how good Pittsburgh has been this year, and how sub-par its competition in the AFC is, compared to what NFC teams have to deal with, this city is more pessimistic than what one would expect. There are a few theories as to why this is the case.

The first is that although the Steelers are winning, they haven't looked good doing it. There is substance to this. Recently, we've seen Andrew Luck-less Indy, Aaron Rodgers-less Green Bay and the mediocre Bungles all push Pittsburgh to the limit, and that is something that is a cause for concern. But let's not kid ourselves.

If the Steelers had the same record but looked dominant in most of their wins, and still had Shazier and Haden fully healthy on defense, fans still wouldn't be satisfied because of New England. I know it's a hypothetical, but I can't imagine any scenario where Steelers fans are booking their flights to Minnesota knowing that   Tom Terrific plas in the AFC. This is because of how good the Patriots are in general, and also because New England is even better than usual when they play the Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady are supposed to be "rivals."

That's the perception around the sports world. But aren't rivalries supposed to be, you know, competitive? Since Big Ben took the league by storm in 2004, he is 2-7 against Brady. Of those seven losses, only two have been by less than two touchdowns. So while Pittsburgh and New England are indisputably two of the NFL's flagship franchises, and any meeting between these teams is, more often than not, the main event in NFL for that day, the stats don't lie. New England has ruled over the Steelers over the past 13 years, and Tom Terrific has dominated Big Ben.

It's crazy to think about given the talent disparity between the two conferences, but I can't see how Steelers fans wouldn't trade being in the NFC, where a 10-6 team could well miss the playoffs, for where they are now in the AFC, a conference in which a team with six or more losses is guaranteed to win the AFC West. There is only one reason for this; New England doesn't play in the NFC.

It's been 13 years since the Steelers were 11-2 or better after 13 games. Yet it's amazing how uneasy fans are about this team. Call me crazy, but I think fans would be far more comfortable if the Steelers were in the NFC, battling with Nick Foles and Case Keenum for the top seed, as opposed to where they are now, competing with Tom freaking Brady. Even if the Steelers beat New England Sunday at Heinz Field, guess what? They're probably going to have to do it again in January. So buckle up, because the Patriots ain't going away.