Three must-watch Steelers on dreaded 'TNF'

The Steelers (7-5) are looking to bounce back against the Patriots (2-10) in maybe the least anticipated game of the year on "Thursday Night Football." Here are three must-watch players for Pittsburgh in Week 14.

George Pickens, wide receiver 

New England enters the matchup with the third-best rush defense (88.7 yards per game) in the league. The Steelers will likely not abandon the run entirely with QB Kenny Pickett out, but the outcome of the game could very well come down to the arm of backup QB Mitch Trubisky, who's looking to get his playmakers the ball.

"I'm going to be aggressive," Trubisky said. "We want to be an aggressive offense. So whatever that means, taking care of football, we got to find ways to score points."

One of the biggest benefactors of Trubisky being aggressive will be Pickens. The second-year wide receiver has 44 catches for 748 yards and three touchdowns on the season and he always seems to have his biggest games in primetime.

Joey Porter Jr., cornerback

The Steelers fell trap to RB James Conner's revenge game a week ago as he rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns. They can't let that happen again with another former player in WR JuJu Smith-Schuster coming back to town.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, it has Porter Jr., who has quickly established himself as one of the best corners in the 2023 NFL Draft class. The Patriots don't seem to have a clear WR1, meaning Porter Jr. could likely follow Smith-Schuster to prevent another revenge game from occurring.

Keeanu Benton, defensive tackle

Benton, the Steelers' No. 49 overall pick in this year's draft, is coming off maybe the best game of his young NFL career. The promising rookie posted two tackles, one forced fumble and one pass defensed as one of the only bright spots in the team's Week 13 loss.

His performance earned him the highest grade of any rookie DT in Week 13 by Pro Football Focus and further proved his coaches' opinions about him right.

"That's a guy who is going to be a force moving forward," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin told reporters.

Benton is surely looking to build off of last week and shut down veteran RB Ezekiel Elliott, who will be the primary back with RB Rhamondre Stevenson out with a high ankle sprain.