The Pittsburgh Steelers return from their bye-week to an inter-conference matchup versus the New Orleans Saints. Pittsburgh, coming off a 27-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans, is 7-4 on the season. They have had some monstrous wins and some terrible losses. Pittsburgh has beaten teams like the Indianapolis Colts and the Baltimore Ravens by scoring 51 points.
However, they have lost to teams like the 2-8 New York Jests and the 2-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also, they have had close performances against lowly teams like Tennessee and the Jacksonville Jaguars. New Orleans comes to town at 4-6, but is 3rd in the NFL with 299.8 passing yards per game. Although this game is crucial for Pittsburgh, the $54.00 get-in price for this game is the lowest of the season at Heinz Field.
The average price for Steelers tickets this season is $194.26 on the secondary market. The average ticket price for this Sunday’s game is $197.79, which represents a 5% decrease from this time last week. As mentioned before, fans can get into the stadium for as low as $54.00, which is the lowest get-in price of the season for Steelers home games. In their next home game against Kansas City, the average price drops down to $171.23 with a get-in price of $59.00. However in the following week against division-rival Cincinnati, the price spikes up to $217.78, with a get-in price of $76.00.
This matchup could potentially turn into a shootout. Fans at Heinz Field will see two of the NFL’s premiere pass offenses face two defenses that have struggled against the pass. New Orleans has allowed 255.2 passing yards per game, which is 27th in the NFL. Pittsburgh is 16th in the NFL in passing yards allowed, but they have faced few elite quarterbacks all season.
Pittsburgh may be welcoming back cornerback Ike Taylor, who suffered a broken forearm against the Carolina Panthers in week 3. Pittsburgh has also activated linebacker Jarvis Jones, who suffered a dislocated wrist in the same game. These two players could have an impact on how Pittsburgh fares against Jimmy Graham and the high-flying New Orleans offense.
This is the first time the teams have seen each other since 2010, a contest which New Orleans won 20-10. New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees threw the ball 44 times in that matchup. With the emergence of their rushing offense this season, we may not see Brees drop back to pass as much as he did the last time these two played. Pittsburgh will need to keep both Brees and the running game in check if they want to keep pace in the AFC North, which has all of their teams above .500.
