The battle for AFC supremacy is upon us, as the Pittsburgh Steelers will go on the road to take on the top-seeded New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game this Sunday.After a convincing 34-16 victory over the mediocre Houston Texans, the Patriots have turned their eye to the dynamic Steelers offense featuring the likes of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell, who had a field day against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.But despite Bell's heroics, the Steelers were unable to score a touchdown against the Chiefs, scraping by Kansas City with an 18-16 victory that went down to the wire.An offensive output like that won't serve Pittsburgh much good against Tom Brady and the rest of New England's offense that, in spite of giving up two interceptions, was able to put up a lot of points against a stout Texans defense.But before we go into any further analysis, let's take a look at all the information you'll need surrounding this matchup:Ticket Info available at ScoreBig.com. PreviewIt wouldn't be a championship-caliber game without the likes of Big Ben and Brady going up against each other. Arguably the two best signal-callers in the AFC, Brady and Roethlisberger have put on shows that have captivated audiences for years now.Brady has an impressive 9-2 record over the Steelers in his career, including playoff games. Many pundits will point out how the Patriots beat the Steelers back in Week 7 by a score of 27-16, but what may be overlooked is that Roethlisberger didn't play in that game.Had he suited up, the outcome would've at least been a lot closer. Sunday's game won't necessarily be about team vs. team; it will largely be about which quarterback has the better game.After all, the NFL is a quarterback-driven league.But just because each team's quarterback is the primary reason for its success this season isn't to say every other position is irrelevant.The Patriots defense will be put under the microscope this week as it attempts to limit the damage Bell and Brown cause. New England did a good job at limiting Texans tailback Lamar Miller on the ground in the divisional round, but Bell is on a whole other level as both a running back and a receiving option.To stand any chance of stopping the Steelers from wreaking havoc Sunday, limiting the big play will be crucial. Houston had a couple of opportunities to blow the game wide open but missed them.Take Will Fuller V's drop as he sprinted toward the end zone:With almost 100 percent certainty, Brown will not let the Patriots secondary off that easy with such lackadaisical coverage.On the other side of the field, the Steelers will have to deal with the likes of Julian Edelman, Michael Bennett, LeGarrette Blount and now the speedy and elusive Dion Lewis, who lit the world on fire against Houston with three touchdowns (one rush, one return, one receiving).While this year's Steelers defense only surrendered 16 points to the Chiefs on Sunday, it would be a big surprise if they were able to pull off the same type of defensive performance two weeks in a row, especially against a dynamic offense. PredictionThe Patriots at home in January with the AFC title on the line' How can anyone not favor New England in this one'The Steelers are more than capable of pulling off the upset, but it's unlikely they will be able to do so on the road in a hostile environment with the masterminds of Brady and head coach Bill Belichick on the opposite sideline.The Steelers will keep this game interesting for as long as they can, but Brady will be able to drive down the field on a vintage two-minute drive to set up the game-winning field goal for Stephen Gostkowski to escape with the win and advance to yet another Super Bowl.For the Steelers, they'll feel hard done by, as they will have done everything they could to win this game but will look on to next season, when they will have even more firepower back in their offense with the eventual return of Martavis Bryant from suspension.But until then, it's Brady's world, and we're all living in it. Prediction: Patriots outlast Steelers, 30-27.
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