The Patriots will take to the road for the first time in nearly a month when they head to the Steel City to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a battle of division leaders from the AFC East and the AFC North. The two teams will renew a rivalry that was last visited two seasons ago when the Steelers traveled to New England for the 2002 season opener and the grand opening of Gillette Stadium. That game was a rematch of the 2001 AFC Championship Game, when New England qualified for Super Bowl XXXVI with a 24-17 victory at Heinz Field. Now, more than two years later, the Patriots and Steelers are once again on top of their divisions and will face off in an important midseason game this week.
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast on CBS. The game can be seen in Boston on WBZ-TV Channel 4. Jim Nantz will handle the play-by-play duties and Phil Simms will provide analysis. Bonnie Bernstein will contribute reports from the sidelines.
RADIO: WBCN 104.1 FM is the flagship station for the Patriots Rock Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Gil Santos is in his 28th season as the voice of the Patriots and will call the action along with Patriots Hall of Famer Gino Cappelletti. Santos and Cappelletti are celebrating their 21st season as a broadcast tandem.
NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience by Westwood One. Harry Kalas and Jack Ham will call all of the action from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.
STARTING STRONG
The Patriots have started the season with a 6-0 record, establishing the best start to a season in franchise history. The previous franchise record for best start to a season was established in 1974, when New England jumped out to a 5-0 record.
TOPPLING TOUGH TEAMS
The Patriots travel to Pittsburgh this week to square off with the 5-1 Steelers, marking the third consecutive week that New England will face a team that enters the game with a winning percentage above .700. The Patriots have recently shown an ability to step up when facing tough competition, having won their last nine games against such teams. New England will face a .700 team on the road for just the second time since the start of last season, with both of their previous such road games producing memorable last-second victories at Indianapolis and Miami.
