FOXBORO — Matthew Slater has confronted the Steelers 10 occasions in his profession, greater than some other participant on the Patriots’ roster.
Asked this week about reigniting a as soon as fiery AFC rivalry Sunday, Slater famous a few of the greatest and worst performs of his profession have sprung from these conferences. He thinks it’s solely becoming.
“When you think about pro football, this is one of the first franchises I think of,” Slater stated this week. “They’re just so rich in history and tradition, and I feel like the brand of football that they’ve played has stayed true through the generations: hard-nosed, physical, competitive no matter what the circumstances are.”
The Patriots and Steelers haven’t performed since 2019, when the then reigning champion Pats waxed Pittsburgh 33-3 in primetime. The Patriots’ final journey to the Steel City got here in 2018, after they pulled off a miraculous particular groups play amid a 17-10 loss.
Late within the second quarter, cornerback Jonathan Jones stumbled down the sideline whereas protecting a punt, however recovered in time to chase the bouncing ball close to the left pylon line. To put it aside from a touchback, Jones somersaulted into the tip zone and tipped the ball skyward. Then, working again Rex Burkhead made his personal diving save and tapped it again to the 2-yard line, the place it was finally downed.
Slater had a front-row seat to your complete sequence because the second Patriot on the scene, who needed to leap out of Burkhead’s manner. The 52-yard punt is one in all Slater’s profession highlights.
“That’s one of the best team plays I’ve seen,” he stated.
On the alternative finish of the spectrum, Slater remembers fumbling a kickoff towards the Steelers in a 2008 house loss. Then a rookie, Slater’s miscue helped grease the skids for an eventual 33-10 defeat amid pouring rain. The Steelers have been one in all 5 groups to beat the Patriots that season and went on to win the Super Bowl over the Cardinals
“They were a really opportunistic team that year,” Slater remembered. “They didn’t make any mistakes, they didn’t beat themselves. The defense was a bunch of monsters out there, obviously Big Ben, too. That was a great team.”
Overall, Slater is 7-3 versus Pittsburgh for his profession. The Pats are 12-4 towards the Steelers beneath Bill Belichick, together with three AFC Championship wins. Three of their final 4 conferences in Pittsburgh have been one-score video games.
“Special things happen when these two teams get together, a lot of memorable games,” Slater stated. “We’re looking forward to hopefully having another one.”
On Tuesday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stated of the Patriots’ captain: “Matt Slater is a legendary special teams player. I used to say, ‘legendary of this generation,’ but I no longer include the ‘of this generation.’ He’s just a legendary special teams player.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com