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PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The
New England Patriots
and
Philadelphia Eagles
may be on a collision course for Super Bowl XXXIX. The
Pittsburgh Steelers
will host the NFL's lone remaining unbeaten teams in the next two weeks.
It will be quite a test for rookie
Ben Roethlisberger
, who is 4-0 as the starting quarterback since replacing injured
Tommy Maddox
. The four wins ties Phil Simms for the second-longest win streak by a rookie quarterback to start a career since 1970.
But don't expect the Patriots to be impressed with 4-0. All they have done is set NFL records for consecutive wins, including playoffs, with 21 and consecutive regular season wins with 18.
The latest was a 13-7 victory over the previously unbeaten
New York Jets
in a battle of AFC East rivals. The Patriots frustrated Jets quarterback
Chad Pennington
in the second half and held
Curtis Martin
to 70 rushing yards.
On Sunday, they will try to pressure Roethlisberger and contain
Duce Staley
, who has rushed for 582 yards, including three 100-yard games, this season. New England leads the AFC with 19 sacks.
Patriots Pro Bowl cornerback
Ty Law
will match up against
Hines Ward
, who is third in the AFC with 43 catches for 531 yards.
The Steelers are off to their best start since 2001 when they won a division title and advanced to the AFC championship game. But it was the Patriots who denied them a trip to the Super Bowl with a 24-17 victory here.
The teams met again in the 2002 season opener and
Tom Brady
passed for three touchdowns in a 30-14 victory for New England.
Brady has led the Patriots to a 6-0 start for the first time in franchise history. Now he has a six-time 1,000-yard rusher in his backfield.
Corey Dillon
, who has rushed for 637 yards for the Patriots, is very familiar with the Steelers from his seven years in Cincinnati. Pittsburgh held Dillon to no more than 60 rushing yards in their last four games against him.
But the Steelers will be without Pro Bowl nose tackle
Casey Hampton
, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Pittsburgh's last game - a 24-20 win at Dallas on October 17.
The Patriots may again be without receivers
Deion Branch
and
Troy Brown
, who are nursing injuries. But Brady has managed to get by with
David Givens
, who had five catches for 107 yards in the win over the Jets, and
David Patten
.
The Steelers need to put pressure on Brady. They are tied for second in the AFC with 17 sacks.
Matchup to watch: Wards faces Law.
Series: Pittsburgh leads, 11-5, but the Patriots have won the last two meetings.
Next week: New England visits St. Louis on November 7 Pittsburgh hosts Philadelphia on November 7
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