TEAM TALK
- Patriots - Steelers Thursday Injury Report.
- Erik Scalavino shares the practice news and locker-room buzz from Thursday at Gillette: Branch sits out again.
- Paul Perillo scouts the matchup: Expect some fireworks.
- Press Conference Transcript: Tom Brady.
- What They're Saying: Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Angelique Fiske reports Sebastian Vollmer and the Patriots surprised a nurse at Boston Children's Hospital with tickets to Super Bowl LII.
- Steve Burton goes One-on-One with Matthew Slater to discuss how the Patriots can bounce back from their disappointing loss in Miami. (4.07 min. video)
LOCAL LINKS
- Jeff Howe For Rob Gronkowski, it’s payback time. He owes his teammates a Gronkian performance Sunday in their most important game of the regular season.
- Mike Reiss hears from teammates who say the return of Rob Gronkowski has provided a boost to the Patriots' energy level and urgency this week.
- Ryan Hannable believes Rob Gronkowski can make up for being suspended with huge game vs. Steelers.
- Michael Hurley breaks down the key weapons and offers a detailed look at what to expect Sunday in Pittsburgh.
- Phil Perry considers where the priority should be, stopping Bell or Brown. /I’m assuming ‘both’ isn’t an option?
- Mike Reiss notes that on paper, New England's rush defense looks vulnerable to Le'Veon Bell, but Patriots defenders say there's a way to hem him in.
- Evan Lazar finds that the numbers and history are on the Patriots' side against the Steelers.
- Adam Kurkjian feels that the Patriots ground game can break down the Steelers.
- Phil Perry suggests the Steelers’ man to man defensive plan against the Patriots may be unrealistic.
- Parker Hurley (FullPressCoverage) Rex Burkhead is schematic nightmare for Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Zack Cox notes Dion Lewis appreciates a recent Ray Rice comparison, says he doesn't feel small on the field.
- Zack Cox looks at whether Pats-Steelers is the biggest regular-season game of the Belichick/Brady era.
- Mike Reiss notes that Tom Brady's passing stats have dipped since being on injury report. /Same thing happened with Aaron Rodgers. #Cliff.
- Ron Borges sees Malcolm Butler playing and tweeting himself on to the sideline and out of the money.
- Mike D'Abate (FullPressCoverage) Patriots Dispatches: Cannon, Firepower and Steel.
- Jeff Howe Patriots Notebook: Many reasons for Tom Brady to feel ‘really good’ heading into Pittsburgh showdown; More.
- Ryan Hannable notes Tom Brady is hopeful Kenny Britt can contribute to the Patriots this season.
- Ryan Hannable reports Kyle Van Noy and Trey Flowers were among 11 players limited on Thursday.
- Jeff Howe Patriots Mailbag: Examining Joe Thuney’s recent performance, Kenny Britt’s future involvement.
- Doug Kyed Patriots Mailbag: How high should New England take a QB in the 2018 NFL draft?
- Zack Cox takes look at the playoff picture entering Week 15, noting the Patriots are in a precarious position right now.
- The Herald Staff points out that the Patriots have the best record vs. playoff teams since 2001.
- Steve Balestrieri & Thomas Murphy (WBZ Vault) One Patriots Place: A Weekly look at Patriots News, featuring the best Patriots insiders from around the NFL. Guest: Bill Speros. (1 hour podcast)
- Jim Lazar says Mike Tomlin and the Steelers fans are pre-ordering those "AFC No. 1 Seed" T-shirts and hats, and makes his Week 15 picks. Patriots win 32-27.
NATIONAL NEWS
- Richard Sherman (The Players Tribune) Underrated Wide Receivers 101. Julian Edelman gets respect.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady praises Kenny Britt for his effort to get up to speed.
- Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) John Dorsey: Kenny Britt may have higher opinion of himself than I do.
- Charean Williams (ProFootballTalk) Tom Brady has full practices this week.
- Jacob Feldman (SI) Patriots-Steelers is huge, but it's biggest for Big Ben.
- Sean Wagner-McGough (CBS Sports) NFL Playoff Picture: How Steelers can exploit Patriots, 8 stats to know for Week 15.
- Jeremy Fowler (ESPN) It takes a village: Steelers look to 'group effort' to contain Patriots' Rob Gronkowski.
- Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Steelers planning to throw many people at Gronk problem.
- Josh Alper (ProFootballTalk) Le’Veon Bell happy for another opportunity to face Patriots.
- Mike Tanier (Bleacher Report) Transcendent players make all the difference when playoff races heat up.
- Michael Goldstein (FutureEd) An interview with New England Patriots coach Brendan Daly, a former teacher, on coaching and teacher leadership.
- Michael Goldstein (FutureEd) For educators: More lessons from the gridiron.
- Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) The Commissioner is safe, but are his lieutenants?
- Dave Dameshek (NFL.com) Week 15 Spoiler Alert: Patriots beat Steelers; 'Hawks top Rams. Pats win 33-27.
- MMQB Staff (SI) NFL Week 15 Picks. Five out of six pick Patriots.
- David Steele (Sporting News) Week 15 picks. Steelers win 31-29.
VIEW FROM PITTSBURGH
- Joe Starkey (TribLive) Alejandro Villanueva used to be … a Patriots fan? /Good read.
- Paul Zeise (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Will the Steelers finally end the Patriots dynasty? /It might take more than a Week 15 game, just sayin'.
- Ed Bouchette (Post-Gazette) Rob Gronkowski feeds off the Steelers.
- Chris Adamski (TribLive) Steelers' Mike Hilton ready for Patriots' Rob Gronkowski in massive size mismatch.
- Kevin Gorman (TribLive) Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger silencing his critics.
- Ray Fittipaldo (Post-Gazette) The Steelers need to bend, then break the Patriots' red-zone defense.
- Chris Adamski (TribLive) Steelers' Martavis Bryant: 'If I didn't want to play, I wouldn't be here right now, trust me'.
- Chris Adamski (TribLive) Steelers no longer using Martavis Bryant as return man.
- Joe Rutter (TribLive) Steelers' JuJu Smith-Schuster among names on injury report.
- Joe Rutter (TribLive) Steelers hold hope CB Joe Haden can play vs. Patriots.
- Ed Bouchette (Post-Gazette) How to win Super Bowls: Stay healthy.
- Ray Fittipaldo (Post-Gazette) As Jets defensive coordinator, Bill Belichick used to yell at receivers coach Todd Haley.