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The last time Tom Brady faced the Pittsburgh Steelers, he was in the middle of his supposed “cliff” last December, as he threw a pivotal interception in what ended up being a 17-10 loss.
Now, nine months later, Brady has added another Super Bowl ring to his ever-growing collection, and he will be facing a Steelers team in Week 1 that looks awfully different than the one he battled last season.
So, what should we expect from Brady in the New England Patriots' season opener?
Well, if we know anything about Brady by now, it's that he doesn't take the regular season all that seriously anymore, and at 42 years old playing in an AFC East division that the Patriots have perpetually been winning for a decade-and-a-half, who could blame him?
Barring injury or something really, really weird happening, New England will probably win its 11th straight division title and 16th in the last 17 years, so the Pats almost surely have nothing to worry about in the AFC East.
As a result, you might see Brady coast for a good portion of the regular season, saving his biggest performances for the playoffs.
For that reason, we probably should not anticipate Brady having a monster year, and that includes this Week 1 matchup.
To be fair, the Steelers are one of the toughest teams on the Patriots' schedule, so if there would ever be a time for Brady to show out during the regular season, it's on Sunday night, but, I mean, it's Week 1.
New England rarely loses season openers, but this seems to be one the Pats stand a fair chance of losing, as Pittsburgh is no joke. The Patriots are at home for this contest, but that doesn't make the experienced Steelers any less of a difficult opponent.
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The good news for New England is that it is starting out the season with both Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon in its receiving corps, which was something the Patriots couldn't say last year. Remember: they picked up Gordon in late September of 2018.
That means even with N'Keal Harry being out with an ankle injury and Rob Gronkowski no longer being around, Brady will still have a couple of really reliable wide receivers to throw to, not to mention fellow wide out Phillip Dorsett and running back James White.
So, Brady will have his targets. The Gronkowski security blanket may not be an option anymore, but Edelman and Gordon are still really good.
Look for Brady to take it easy in Week 1, making short, intermediate throws to Edelman, Dorsett and White while maybe testing his arm for a deep throw to Gordon once or twice.
It is important to remember that Gordon is not in tip-top shape, as his suspension was just lifted last month, so he has not gotten much of a chance to condition himself. Because of that, Brady will likely favor his other pass-catchers over Gordon on Sunday.
The Patriots are the kings of long, sustained drives because of Brady's ability to get the ball out quickly, and that is a strategy I expect to see Brady and Co. employ to the fullest this weekend.
I don't think Bill Belichick is going to want to reveal his bag of tricks this early, even against a strong opponent. Expect the Pats to play conservatively, which means we will likely see a rather tame performance from Brady where he completes a lot of his passes but doesn't rack up a ton of yardage.
