Michael Pittman Jr. ran routes on 84% of Pittsburgh\u2019s dropbacks in the Steelers opener. With Pittman now officially out, Mike McCarthy has to replace a receiver involved in nearly every passing situation. Aaron Rodgers, meanwhile, is still trying to establish what this new 2026 version of his Steelers offense can do most excellently. It\u2019s yet to differentiate itself, really, and it\u2019s already banged up. Below is my preview, prediction, and pick for this week\u2019s NFL game between the New England Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how I\u2019ll play it. I\u2019ll be pumping out these predictions for individual games all season, with plenty of coverage here on\u00a0DraftKings Network. Follow my handle @dansby_edits<\/a> for more betting plays.<\/p>\n Rodgers averaged 5.5 yards per attempt against Atlanta last week. DK Metcalf caught four of ten targets, and New England can assign Christian Gonzalez to him even with fellow starting corner Carlton Davis out. Against man coverage since 2025, Rodgers has averaged 5.63 yards per attempt on 158 dropbacks. I\u2019d make him find completions elsewhere; he\u2019s got no Kenny Gainwell this year, but he can still look for Roman Wilson over the top, or Pat Freiermuth over the middle.<\/p>\n Freiermuth and Jaylen Warren each caught five passes last week. They can help, although Warren played only 37% of Pittsburgh\u2019s offensive snaps as the Steelers rotated backs by possession. I expect him to see more this week. A good running game between Rico Dowdle and Warren would improve Rodgers\u2019 chances of having shorter third downs to convert. But New England allowed running backs just 77.1 rushing yards per game last season, and their rush defense was missing Milton Williams for much the second half of the year. He\u2019s healthy, and Dre\u2019Mont Jones should help stuff ground attacks. I\u2019m struggling to get Pittsburgh to 20 points, here.<\/p>\n Drake Maye has averaged 8.89 yards per attempt against Cover 3 and Cover 4 since 2025, across 293 dropbacks, and Pittsburgh leaned heavily on both in its opener. He also threw for 268 yards and two touchdowns against the Steelers last season. I\u2019d give him considerably more credit here than his Seattle performances suggest. New England\u2019s running game concerns me more: the Patriots ranked 25th in rushing EPA last season before finishing last in Week 1. Until they punish lighter boxes, opposing coordinators can keep their safeties deep. Maye has succeeded against those looks, but with A.J. Brown out, he\u2019ll have to find another receiver to threaten them downfield.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh\u2019s new defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, has already defended Maye this way when he was a DC for the Raiders<\/a>. His Las Vegas squad played zone on 90.6% of Maye\u2019s dropbacks last season, disguising coverage with defenders who threatened to rush before retreating into passing lanes. Graham called zone on all 26 Atlanta dropbacks last week. With A.J. Brown on injured reserve, Maye has fewer options for challenging that coverage downfield.<\/p>\n