Long ago, a player was coming out of the University of Michigan to enter the NFL Draft. That player, Tom Brady, was selected by the New England Patriots in the sixth round of that year’s draft. Little did we know, but on April 16, 2000, there would be a paradigm shift that would change the landscape of the NFL.

That shift was the beginning of the bias towards the New England Patriots.

As much as fans do not like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, we need to give credit where credit is due. Pushing the cheating aside, they have still won five Super Bowls since 2002. They have won more than ten games in each of the last 15 seasons (including this one). They deserve to be put on a pedestal each year, but does that mean they are immune to losses?

Year in and year out, the Patriots go into almost every game with the media saying “it’s as close as you can get to a sure-fire win for Belichick and company.”

Take this year, for example, the Patriots were favored in every single game before the season started. (How’s that 10-3 record looking now, media?)

But worst of all, no matter how good the Steelers are, whether it’s home or away, who’s injured, what the temperature is, if a bug is sneezing during kickoff, the Patriots go into every single Pittsburgh/New England game heavily favored. In their defense, and as much as Steelers fans don’t want to hear it, the Patriots really have had the Steelers number in recent games. Since 2013, the Steelers are 0-4 against the Patriots.

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But when was the last time we saw Big Ben play against New England on his own turf?

You have to go back to 2011 when Big Ben saw the Patriots at Heinz Field… and the result? A 25-17 victory for Ben and the Steelers.

You have to go back SIX YEARS for the last time Ben got a shot at the Pats, at home.

Say what you want about how the media has hyped up Ben’s “road woes” (I don’t agree but that’s a different story for another time) but he hasn’t even received a shot at beating this all-powerful New England Patriots team where he is supposed to shine, per the media: at home.

The media are the ones who constantly pump out that Roethlisberger is bad on the road. Sure, there have been a few games where Ben hasn’t been his stellar self on the road. This is also the same media who pump out that he is good at home.

So who puts out that the Patriots are going to win every game of every season?

You said it, the media.

The media pushes out this bias towards the Patriots, which is where we are today. Even after a stunning loss by the Pats on Monday and an incredible performance by players like the Killer B’s (including Boz) on Sunday, the media still churns out statements that the Steelers have no chance to win this week. If you want to go off of the same media comments on how Big Ben shines at home, shouldn’t that already tell you that this game should be different?

Apparently not. Over the past week, there have been multiple sources that have put out headlines and stories for the game this weekend.

Let’s start with headlines that went around the sports world. For example, here is headline #1 that was sent out by a source I shall not name (cough, ESPN),

The Patriots suffered a Monday night letdown, and Carson Wentz tore his ACL, opening the door for the Steelers to claim the No. 1 spot.

Since when have the Steelers not been in a prime position to claim the #1 spot in the AFC? Even if the Pats won last night, a Steelers win next week basically put them as a lock for the #1 seed (all they would need was one win over two terrible teams).

Do people realize what needed to happen if the Steelers beat New England, for the Pats to still get the #1 seed? I don’t even remember how many weeks now, the Steelers have held the #1 spot in the AFC. For weeks, if the regular season were to suddenly end, the Steelers were always in the #1 spot. It doesn’t matter if you thought the Patriots were the superior team, facts are facts, Pittsburgh has been #1 for some time now.

Headline #2 quoted:

A stunning loss. A high-profile injury. A win streak snapped. One of the most unpredictable weeks crowned new No. 1s in both conferences.

Um, the No. 1s in both conferences stayed exactly the same this week… Steelers and Eagles are still #1, just like they have been.

Max Kellerman on First Take ranted about how the Steelers are much improved, yada yada, etc. etc., but had to throw in his minute and a half rant that the Steelers were automatically going to lose 7-8 times.

On the same show, Stephen A. Smith preaches how the Steelers are his favorite team, week in and week out. This week he turns on his “favorite team” to then say that New England losing to Miami means the Pats will “crush” the Steelers.

Obviously, officially losing Shazier for the season hurts, and it hurts a lot; no doubt about it. But did Stephen just watch the same two games? Of all the QB’s in the league, Jay Cutler threw for 263 yards and 3 touchdowns against a Patriots defense who was supposed to be one of the best in the league since Week 5.

Ben just threw for over 500 yards against a good Ravens pass defense Sunday!

Not only that, but TV programs like NBC even prove they know nothing about the facts and that they love the Patriots. For the entire Ravens/Steelers game when they pulled up the standings (as they were at that moment), NBC had the Pats as #1 and the Steelers #2.

Obviously, none of this technically matters, but if you are going to put out statistics as a major tv program, get your facts straight and stop showing your evident bias towards New England.

Steelers Nation, nothing in the world would be more satisfying than beating the New England Patriots this weekend. We all know what this team is capable of, but the rest of the world just sees “New England vs. Pittsburgh,” and goes crazy. It’s time for the Killer B’s, Cam, T.J., Deebo, Mike, and every single person on the roster to put a brief pause that is the bias towards the New England Patriots.