By A to Z Sports,Rob Gregson

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The Mike Bowl is upon us. Two head coaches who mirror each other in a variety of factors, Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers will be traveling to take on Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots in a battle of teams aiming to stay above .500. Here is what our experts believe will happen in one of the best games of the early slate on Sunday.

Steelers 18, Patriots 12

I think the Patriots are going to be a week too late to the 30-point club that Pittsburgh’s defense was letting everyone into. You can tell by the temperament of the stars and coaches on that side of the ball that they are tired of having their physicality questioned.

So I believe Pittsburgh comes out and puts it on New England, limiting Drake Maye and the passing attack and meeting the moment to stop the run. Offensively, it could be a slog as Pittsburgh works through its kinks against a Vrabel-led defense, so I kept this one low scoring. Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Pittsburgh

Patriots 24, Steelers 20

“It’s hard to get a great read on either of these squads. Pittsburgh has shown some awesome upside on offense, but the defense has been shaky, overall. For New England, they’ve found some explosive plays in the passing game – but they allowed the Dolphins to hang around far too long last week. If Christian Gonzalez is able to suit up, that’s a huge boost to the secondary who will try to slow DK Metcalf. I expect the Steelers to try to get Jaylen Warren even more involved, but it ultimately comes up just short. The Patriots find a way to squeak this one out, and Mike Vrabel gets his first win against Mike Tomlin.”Adam Holt, A to Z Sports New Orleans

Steelers 27, Patriots 14

“The Steelers are coming off a tough loss to the Seattle Seahawks, where their own mental mistakes cost them the game. They have a solid chance to bounce back, though as they square off with a young Patriots team. The Patriots allowed a Dolphins offense that couldn’t do anything right in Week 1 to put up 27 points. So I’m expecting a big day from Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers’ offense to help Pittsburgh pick up a two-score win.”Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis

Steelers 27, Patriots 20

“The Patriots & Steelers are two teams that are difficult to nail down, in part because of their early-season schedules. We’ll find out a little bit more about each one of these teams on Sunday. The biggest mismatch appears to be Pittsburgh’s front versus New England’s offensive line — Heyward, Watt, Benton, and company should be able to create push and get Drake Maye uncomfortable so long as the Steelers don’t spot the Patriots a two-score lead, as Miami did last week.”

“In that case, a lot of young players in New England should yield enough miscues for the Steelers to capitalize. For the Steelers offensively, look for Aaron Rodgers to attack New England’s middle of the field. An inexperienced group of safeties should prompt opportunities to attack for chunk gains and keep the Patriots off balance.”Kyle Crabbs, A to Z Sports

Steelers 27, Patriots 20

“We’ve gotten two very different offensive performances from the Steelers during the first couple of games of the season. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has to take care of the ball first and foremost, and Pittsburgh’s coaching staff has to get wide receiver D.K. Metcalf going. New England’s offense moved the ball well and put up 33 points on the Dolphins’ defense last week, but committed a whopping 12 penalties along the way. This game probably comes down to who makes the least mistakes, leading me to go with the more veteran Steelers team.”Nick Roesch, A to Z Sports Kansas City

Final Prediction for Patriots vs. Steelers

It appears that everyone outside of Adam is on the Steelers here. They seem to be the better team on paper, but that was the case last week as well, and now the team is 1-1 opposed to 2-0. Either way, expect an old-fashioned showdown on Sunday afternoon.