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PITTSBURGH -- Tom Brady wanted the showdown with Ben Roethlisberger, if hes being honest.And the New England star is far from the only one that wanted to see Roethlisbergers familiar No. 7 run out of the tunnel for the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on Sunday for what looked as if -- at least until a week ago -- one of the top games of the season in the AFC.One awkward step by Roethlisberger against the Miami Dolphins in a confounding 30-15 loss ended that prospect, a step that left cartilage in Roethlisbergers left knee torn and Brady kind of bummed.You always want to go against the best players, Brady said. Hes one of the reasons why theyve been such a great team.Now its time for the Steelers (4-2) to prove their resilience -- again -- without the franchises all-time leading passer on the sideline.Pittsburgh is 11-9 when Roethlisberger hasnt been in the starting lineup since he took over the job as a rookie in 2004. Not great, but hardly disastrous.Your turn Landry Jones, who jokingly told his teammates dont panic after Roethlisberger underwent outpatient surgery to repair the knee on Monday.Jones was moderately successful in spells while subbing for Roethlisberger last season.Now he finds himself facing one of the all-time greats still at the top of his game at 39. Jones, however, isnt going to waste time getting caught up with the notion of trying to be Roethlisberger-lite. Thats not his game.Ben kind of hangs his hat on, and what hes done well for most of his career, is extending plays and throwing people off, stepping up in the pocket, Jones said. For me, Im more of a quick-decision maker.Here are some things to watch when the Patriots visit the Steelers:CURTAINS FOR THE STEEL CURTAIN? Roethlisberger or no Roethlisberger, Pittsburghs shaky defense -- and not Jones -- that will likely have the most at stake if the Steelers want to orchestrate an upset.Bradys had his way against some of Pittsburghs best defenses, going 8-2 with 24 touchdowns against just three interceptions in his career against the Steelers. Now he faces a group missing injured defensive end Cam Heyward and with rookies all over the place.Brady is taking nothing for granted.They lost two games on the road, but were not playing them on the road, he said. Were playing them at home where theyve won them all, so its going to be a big challenge for us.FAMILIAR FACES: The Steelers and Patriots have won seven of the past 12 AFC championships yet theyve only met once in the playoffs during that span, with each club seeming to peak when the other is just a little bit off.New England has had the upper hand for most of this decade while the Steelers rebuilt themselves on the fly after reaching the Super Bowl three times between 2005-10. The clubs entered the season as the first and second choices in the AFC to reach Houston in February.The Patriots (5-1) look as good as advertised with Brady back. Roethlisbergers injury clouds his teams situation dramatically, though the Steelers arent exactly rattled.Responding to adversity, thats what we do, linebacker Arthur Moats said. Yeah, we know Ben isnt playing, but we have confidence in Landry. You know hes going to go out there and let it fly.STILL RUSTY?: Even after his second straight three-touchdown performance in New Englands win over Cincinnati last week, Brady said he was still a tad rusty since returning from his four-game Deflategate suspension. He said hes still working to get to exactly where he wants to be, adding that there was no real way to replicate the intensity and duration of practices.Its been good to be able to do those things for the last couple of weeks, but theres a long way to go and this will be another important week for that, Brady said.But if Bradys game is off, thats news to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.Hes Tom Brady, man, Tomlin said. Hes got six touchdowns, no interceptions and is completing 76 percent of his balls. So from my perspective we face a stiff challenge.BIG-TIME RESPECT: Expect the Steelers to rely heavily on versatile running back LeVeon Bell to take some of the pressure off Jones. Bell is one of the most dynamic threats in the league, as comfortable lining up at wide receiver as he is in the backfield, earning New England coach Bill Belichicks admiration in the process.Oh my god, Belichick said. Oh yeah. Hes a tremendous player, great hands, catches the ball, very quick, makes people miss, strong, breaks tackles, excellent balance, tough, doesnt run out of bounds, fights for extra yardage, a great player.---AP Sports Writer Kyle Hightower in Boston contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL C.J. McCollum Blazers Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Anfernee Simons Blazers Jersey . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Jusuf-Nurkic-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Mario Hezonja Jersey . -- Linebacker Myles Jack ran for four touchdowns, defensive end Cassius Marsh caught a scoring pass, and No. Zach Collins Jersey . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. PHILADELPHIA -- Kurk Lee scored 24 points shooting 10 for 16 from the floor and Rodney Williams added 21 points to lead Drexel past Hartford 87-73 on Friday night.Drexel (1-2) led 31-28 at the half and out of the break out proceeded to outscore the Hawks 17-9 to post a double-digit lead at 47-37. Lee scored eight points during that stretch.Lees jumper with 10:30 to play pushed the lead to 57-41 and Hartford (1-3) couldnt get closer than eight points the rest of thee way.ddddddddddddIn the first half, Sammy Mojica buried a 3 at the 10:51 mark to give the Dragons a 20-8 lead. The Hawks then went on a 15-1 run and John Carrolls jumper put Hartford up 23-21 with 6:09 left before halftime.Jalen Ross poured in 30 points for Hartford shooting 9 for 18 from the floor and 8 for 11 from the free throw line. ' ' '