Wk 2 · 2026
Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots — Sun, Sep 20
Sun, Sep 20 ·
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
· CBS
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 23 days away. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
AFC North · no games yet
at
1:00pET
NE -4.5 · total 43.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential NE by 5.9
AFC East · no games yet
What is at stake
An AFC game between two divisions. It decides neither division, but conference record is the tiebreaker that follows head-to-head, and both of these are chasing the same 7 AFC playoff places. Division standings.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The Gridiron King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
1.7 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two rosters that have
been through a draft and a free-agency window since.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense
Defense
Points / game
Points allowed / game
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The Gridiron King’s 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats
The box-score store these rows are built from has not been produced for this league yet, so no preview carries points and yards for and against. The form, trend and series blocks below are built from this site’s own files and are not affected.
Steelers form
No completed games on record.
Patriots form
No completed games on record.
Steelers this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Patriots this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 2
| Opponent | Steelers | Patriots |
|---|---|---|
| Broncos AFC | vs Wk 12 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 17 · scheduled preview |
| Jaguars AFC | at Wk 14 · scheduled preview | at Wk 3 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, Patriots leads 10–4 · Steelers won the last one
14 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
6.4 points toward Patriots
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025-09-21 | Steelers 21 — 14 Patriots | at NE | Steelers |
| 2023 | 2023-12-07 | Patriots 21 — 18 Steelers | at PIT | Patriots |
| 2022 | 2022-09-18 | Patriots 17 — 14 Steelers | at PIT | Patriots |
| 2019 | 2019-09-08 | Steelers 3 — 33 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
| 2018 | 2018-12-16 | Patriots 10 — 17 Steelers | at PIT | Steelers |
| 2017 | 2017-12-17 | Patriots 27 — 24 Steelers | at PIT | Patriots |
| 2016 | 2017-01-22 | Steelers 17 — 36 Patriots | at NE | Patriots playoffs |
| 2016 | 2016-10-23 | Patriots 27 — 16 Steelers | at PIT | Patriots |
| 2015 | 2015-09-10 | Steelers 21 — 28 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
| 2013 | 2013-11-03 | Steelers 31 — 55 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
| 2011 | 2011-10-30 | Patriots 17 — 25 Steelers | at PIT | Steelers |
| 2010 | 2010-11-14 | Patriots 39 — 26 Steelers | at PIT | Patriots |
| 2008 | 2008-11-30 | Steelers 33 — 10 Patriots | at NE | Steelers |
| 2007 | 2007-12-09 | Steelers 13 — 34 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
Steelers leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Aaron Rodgers QB #8 | 327/498, 3322 YDS, 24 TD, 7 INT |
| Mason Rudolph QB #2 | 38/52, 310 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT | |
| Rushing | Jaylen Warren RB #30 | 211 CAR, 958 YDS, 6 TD |
| Kenny Gainwell RB #1 | 114 CAR, 537 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Jonnu Smith TE #81 | 9 CAR, 70 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | DK Metcalf WR #4 | 59 REC, 850 YDS, 6 TD |
| Pat Freiermuth TE #88 | 41 REC, 486 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Kenny Gainwell RB #1 | 73 REC, 486 YDS, 3 TD | |
| Calvin Austin III WR #82 | 31 REC, 372 YDS, 3 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Payton Wilson LB #41 | 126 |
| Patrick Queen LB #6 | 120 | |
| Jalen Ramsey CB #5 | 88 | |
| Sacks | Alex Highsmith LB #56 | 9.5 |
| Nick Herbig LB #51 | 7.5 | |
| T.J. Watt LB #90 | 7 | |
| Interceptions | T.J. Watt LB #90 | 2 |
| Kyle Dugger S #29 | 2 | |
| Jack Sawyer LB #33 | 2 |
Patriots leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Drake Maye QB #10 | 354/492, 4394 YDS, 31 TD, 8 INT |
| Joshua Dobbs QB #6 | 7/10, 65 YDS | |
| Rushing | TreVeyon Henderson RB #32 | 180 CAR, 911 YDS, 9 TD |
| Rhamondre Stevenson RB #38 | 130 CAR, 603 YDS, 7 TD | |
| Drake Maye QB #10 | 103 CAR, 450 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Receiving | Stefon Diggs WR #18 | 85 REC, 1013 YDS, 4 TD |
| Hunter Henry TE #85 | 60 REC, 768 YDS, 7 TD | |
| Kayshon Boutte WR #88 | 33 REC, 551 YDS, 6 TD | |
| Mack Hollins WR #13 | 46 REC, 550 YDS, 2 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Robert Spillane LB #14 | 97 |
| Christian Elliss LB #53 | 94 | |
| Jack Gibbens LB #50 | 81 | |
| Sacks | Harold Landry III LB #2 | 8.5 |
| K'Lavon Chaisson LB #45 | 7.5 | |
| Elijah Ponder LB #91 | 4 | |
| Interceptions | Jaylinn Hawkins S #21 | 4 |
| Marcus Jones CB #25 | 3 | |
| Robert Spillane LB #14 | 2 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since signed elsewhere, been traded or retired still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game.