This week's result all in the numbers

[stillers4me]

What exactly will shake out Sunday at Heinz Field when the Steelers and the New England Patriots conduct their three-hour examination of each other's AFC worthiness is not easy to say, at least nowhere near as easy as identifying what you will not see.

You will not see a 6-3 final and you will not see 12-7, two combinations that came up this past weekend in NFL numerology.

The question of the week is simply this: What is the number?

How many points does Mike Tomlin's team need to beat the Patriots? In the Tom Brady Era, the Steelers never have beaten the Patriots without the number being at least 33, and that was with backup Matt Cassell struggling to answer with 10. In the only game the Steelers won with Brady on the field, the number was 34, coming on Halloween Night, 2004............

Rerad more @ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11299/1184937-150-0.stm

[GBMelBlount]

How many points does Mike Tomlin's team need to beat the Patriots? In the Tom Brady Era, the Steelers never have beaten the Patriots without the number being at least 33...

If you make the assumption (only based on past experience) that we don't neutralize Brady.....

then the game likely comes down to whether Ben can score the 35 +- points we will likely need to win.