Patriots vs. Steelers: New England Will Struggle Slowing Down Mike Wallace

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace is probably the fastest wide receiver that the New England Patriots will see all season. And you know what they say about speed?

Speed kills—and Wallace is a prime example.

The Ole Miss product is by no means a complete, well-rounded wide receiver, but he's certainly getting there. This is only his third year in the NFL. What Wallace is known for is utilizing his blazing speed to beat defensive backs down the field and make the big play—he's arguably the best deep threat in all of the NFL. 

Thus far this season for Pittsburgh, Wallace has caught 36 passes for five touchdowns and accumulated 730 yards—good enough for third-most in the league. However, Wallace's dominant stat-line doesn't end there.

He's simply a playmaker, and he's one of the best.

Wallace is currently averaging 104.3 yards per game, 7.1 yards after the catch and an incredible 20.3 yards per reception. 

While Wallace is definitely a work in progress, despite being one of the NFL's elite deep-threat receivers, he's still Pittsburgh's No. 1 wide receiver and is certainly playing like it.

Wallace has been targeted 51 times this season and he's dropped only two of those passes—you can't get much better than that. However, the most impressive stat surrounding Wallace is that 52.9 percent of his receptions are first-downs. 

So what does that mean?

New England's defensive backs—Devin McCourty, Leigh Bodden and Patrick Chung—all need to do a good job of limiting Wallace. If he catches the ball, it's very likely that New England's defense will never get any third-down stops. 

Entering this week against the Steelers, New England's pass defense will definitely have their hands full with Wallace and Pittsburgh's ninth-ranked passing attack. However, New England can certainly limit the 25-year-old by challenging him to run short patterns rather than deep posts. 

Sunday's game against Pittsburgh will be a tough one for New England's worst-ranked pass defense, but limiting Wallace's chances to make a big play will definitely increase their chance of escaping Pittsburgh with a victory. 

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