Patriots-Steelers Capsule

NEW ENGLAND (5-1) at PITTSBURGH (4-2)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. EDT, CBS

OPENING LINE - Patriots by 1+

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Patriots 5-1, Steelers 4-2

SERIES RECORD - Steelers lead 15-13

LAST MEETING - Patriots beat Steelers 28-21 on Sept. 10, 2015

LAST WEEK - Patriots beat Bengals 35-17; Steelers lost to Dolphins 30-15

AP PRO32 RANKING - Patriots No. 2, Steelers No. 8

PATRIOTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (T5), RUSH (7), PASS (8).

PATRIOTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (13), RUSH (9), PASS (18).

STEELERS OFFENSE - OVERALL (9), RUSH (15), PASS (9).

STEELERS DEFENSE - OVERALL (28), RUSH (13), PASS (30).

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES -New England is NFL-best 51-17 in October since 2000. Steelers are second at 46-19. ... Patriots have posted 15 straight non-losing seasons, Steelers 12 straight at .500 or better. ... New England is allowing 15.2 points per game, second in NFL. ... Patriots QB Tom Brady is 8-2 against Pittsburgh, 4-2 at Heinz Field. ... Brady's 196 victories third all-time among QBs (Peyton Manning leads with 200). ... Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski needs one touchdown to tie Stanley Morgan for most in franchise history (68). ... Gronkowski set career high in yards receiving (162) last week vs. Cincinnati. ... Gronkowski's 22 100-yard receiving games rank third all-time among NFL tight ends ... Brady became fourth player in NFL history to reach 5,000 completions last week. ... New England RB LeGarrette Blount is tied for second in NFL in rushing touchdowns (6). ... Pittsburgh is 3-0 at home, winning by average of 18.3 points. ... Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger is out (knee surgery). Pittsburgh is 11-9 in games Roethlisberger has not started since 2001. Landry Jones is 1-1 as starter. ... Steelers are 66-27 at home vs. AFC since 2001. ... Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown's 41 receptions rank second in NFL. ... Steelers WR Sammie Coates leads NFL in yards per catch (22.2). ... Pittsburgh allowed 200-yard rusher (Jay Ajayi) for first time in 16 years vs. Dolphins. ... Steelers K Chris Boswell is most accurate in team history at 89 percent (33 of 37). ... Pittsburgh 28th in NFL in sacks (eight). ... Steelers have not forced turnover or gotten sack in either loss. ... Steelers CB William Gay has started 150 straight games, longest active streak by cornerback. ... Fantasy Watch: With Roethlisberger out, expect Steelers to rely heavily on RB Le'Veon Bell, who leads NFL in yards from scrimmage in October games since 2013 (1,259).

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