The 96th NFL season kicks off Thursday night when the New England Patriots play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8:30 p.m. ET. Here are the top stats to get you ready for the game.
The Patriots are trying to become the ninth team to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The last team to do it was New England, in 2003 and '04.
In each of the last 11 seasons, the reigning NFL champion has played the week before the kickoff weekend, and the defending champion is 9-2 in these “opening night” games. The Patriots are 3-0 in season openers as the reigning Super Bowl champion.
With quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension nullified by a judge on Sept. 3, Brady is expected to play in his 14th straight season opener, the longest active streak for a quarterback. Brady has started 96 consecutive games, the fourth-longest active streak among quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Elias Sports Bureau notes that Brady has won 160 games as the Patriots’ starting quarterback, tied with Brett Favre (who did it with the Packers) for the most wins by a quarterback with one team in NFL history.
Brady’s counterpart Thursday, Ben Roethlisberger, has won the Super Bowl twice. The Elias Sports Bureau notes that there have been four matchups in the last 25 years in which the starting quarterbacks each had won multiple Super Bowls before the game. All four have involved Roethlisberger – three of them against Brady (who has won four).
Roethlisberger will start his 159th game, which will pass Terry Bradshaw for most by a Steelers quarterback.
Steelers coming off strong offensive season
The Steelers scored at least 30 points in a game seven times last season, tying the single-season franchise record set in 1975 and matched in 1979. Pittsburgh’s average of 27.3 points per game last season was a franchise record.
In terms of offensive efficiency, which measures a per-play contribution to the scoring margin and is scaled 0-to-100, the Steelers’ offense had a 69.8 rating last season. That’s the highest the Steelers have had in one season since efficiency was first tracked and scaled by ESPN Stats & Information in 2006.
Roethlisberger set career highs last season in completion percentage (67.1 percent) and Total QBR (72) and matched his career high for touchdown passes (32). In seven regular-season games against the Patriots, Roethlisberger has thrown for 16 touchdowns with five interceptions.
Expect Roethlisberger to look for Antonio Brown frequently. He has an NFL-record 32 consecutive games with at least five receptions and 50 receiving yards.
Running back Le’Veon Bell (suspended) will miss Thursday’s game. His 2,215 yards from scrimmage in 2014 set a franchise record for one season.
On the other side of the line of scrimmage, the Steelers struggled last season. They gave up an average of 6.0 yards per play (second-worst in the NFL to the Falcons’ 6.1) and 353.4 yards per game, the most by the team since 1988 (363 YPG).
Patriots notes
No quarterback who has made at least two starts against the Steelers since 2006 has a higher Total QBR against them than Brady (88). Including the playoffs, Brady has 20 passing touchdowns and three interceptions in nine career starts against the Steelers.
Among the five Patriots cornerbacks who took the most snaps for the team last season, four -- Darrelle Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington and Alfonzo Dennard -- are no longer on the team.
New England lost last year’s season opener, against the Dolphins in Miami, but have not lost consecutive season openers since 2000 and '01; 2000 was Bill Belichick’s first season in New England.
Season projections
According to ESPN’s NFL FPI, the Patriots have a 67 percent chance to win the game.
Looking at the entire season, the Steelers have a 27 percent chance to win the AFC North, which is only third-highest among the four teams in the division. FPI gives the Steelers a 41 percent chance to make the playoffs, also third among AFC North teams.
The Patriots have a 55 percent chance to win the AFC East and a 74 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to FPI.
