James Harrison Injury: Star's Absence Will Keep Steelers from Beating Patriots

Sunday gives us a very plausible playoff preview. The 5-1 New England Patriots travel to Pittsburgh to take on the 5-2 Steelers in a rematch of two of the AFC's best teams over the last decade.

One of the best players in the matchup, Steelers linebacker James Harrison, will not be playing.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette is reporting that Harrison's orbital bone injury has yet to completely heal. "He will not play next week nor until the bone is fully healed because of possible complications," Bouchette writes. "The Steelers said he would miss 4-6 weeks, and next week will be four."

So, short of bringing a heavy blitz, how are the Steelers going to consistently get to Tom Brady? I know that the Steelers' front seven still has plenty of talent on it, but Harrison is by far the best player on that team when it comes to getting the quarterback.

Harrison is more than capable of putting pressure on Brady. As we've seen in the past, Brady is quite beatable when he's pressured. When he's not pressured, or when the opposing team needs to blitz to pressure him, Brady is still the game's best quarterback.

Remember that last year, these teams played in Pittsburgh, with Harrison, and the Patriots won 39-26. I know that this isn't last year, but I don't think either team is quite as good this year. In other words, the matchup is more or less the same.

Now, am I saying that the Steelers can't win on Sunday? No, I am certainly not saying that. Starting with the 2005 season, they have won two Super Bowls and three AFC Championships. You certainly don't enjoy that kind of run without winning some big games and proving some people wrong.

But even in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have had a hard enough time beating the Patriots with Harrison. Pittsburgh's only chance in this game is to pressure Brady. They simply don't have the offense to beat the Patriots in a shootout.

So, if they can't find a way to bring the pressure to Brady without leaving their secondary vulnerable, it will be a rough day for Pittsburgh. The Steelers are good, but I don't like their chances here.