How Good Is Patriots' Defense Compared To Steelers' Defense?

By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston

BOSTON (CBS) -- Close observers of the Patriots this season have had a difficult time with crowning the New England defense as a top-tier unit. The stats, which show the Patriots as a standout No. 1 defense in terms of points allowed while respectably ranking eighth in yards allowed, are undeniable. But stats don't always paint a full picture, not when a team plays nine games against teams that ranked 21st or worst in points scored.

Essentially, the Patriots excelled, yes, but they did it largely against some woefully impotent offenses. And so, in the build-up to Sunday's AFC Championship Game against Pittsburgh, it's slightly difficult to determine which team's defense is set up to be superior.

Here's a quick look at the overall numbers of both teams on the season as a whole:

But again, such numbers aren't necessarily reflective of too much. And while no numbers can ever encapsulate a sport as intricate as football, let's try. And let's do that by comparing how the Patriots and Steelers did against common opponents, of which the team shared six this season.

I'll go through opponent-by-opponent here. In instances when one team has faced an opponent twice and the other team faced that opponent just once, I'll present the average numbers from the two games combined. In instances where both the Patriots and Steelers have played a certain team twice (Miami), I'll include the total numbers from the two games combined.

Again, this is just an exercise for comparison's sake, and the results of games from September might not really matter now in January. Quarterbacks change, people get hurt, starters are rested, stud linebackers get randomly traded -- you get the idea. So consider this merely an interesting comparison instead of a scientific measure. Let's look at the numbers.

(All stats are what the defense allowed, except for the turnovers and sacks.)

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OK, so that's a lot of numbers. But when you put them side-by-side while again acknowledging that this is not scientific, it would appear as though the Steelers can boast of having the better defense. Pittsburgh had a 5-3 lead in categories against the Bengals, and they held a 4-3 lead in categories against Baltimore. The Patriots led 5-3 in the categories against the Jets and Browns. The Patriots and Steelers split the categories evenly vs. Miami.

Really, it may be a specious endeavor to try to claim these eight categories in these particular games can actually determine a "better" defense. But if you are keenly familiar with what the Patriots' defense is at this point of the year, the comparison can at least help you discern what you can expect from the Pittsburgh defense on Sunday.

You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.

In:
• Pittsburgh Steelers
• NFL
• New England Patriots