Tom Brady Steelers
Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots greets Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Patriots defeated the Steelers 36-17 to win the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 22, 2017 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Elsa/Getty Images

It’d be hard to find a better game in the 2017 NFL regular season than Sunday’s matchup between the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only are they the AFC’s two best teams, but they are the top Super Bowl favorites in all of football.

The winner of the Week 15 contest in Pittsburgh will be in the driver’s seat to secure home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Even though the Steelers are at home and one game ahead of the Patriots in the standings, the betting odds favor New England.

It isn’t exactly surprising that New England is a three-point road favorite (53.5 over/under per OddsShark). Most preseason predictions seemed to have the defending champions repeating with another title in February 2018. The Patriots manhandled the Steelers when they met in last year’s AFC Championship Game, continuing their dominance over Pittsburgh during the Brady-Belichick Era.

The Steelers have beaten the Patriots just three times in 13 tries since 2002, and one of those victories came in 2008 when Brady missed just about the entire season. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten New England in six years, and the Patriots are averaging 36.5 points per game in a current four-game winning streak over their AFC North rivals.

Why would this year be any different?

There’s at least a small chance that the Steelers could finally get the better of the Patriots. Pittsburgh has been the better team overall this season, winning 11 games to New

England’s 10. The Patriots are coming off a seven-point loss to the Miami Dolphins, while the Steelers have won eight games in a row.

Pittsburgh has probably the top-two non-quarterback MVP candidates in wide receiver Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell. The Steelers rank 23 spots ahead of the Patriots in total defense.

That, of course, is ignoring the fact that New England has allowed fewer points than Pittsburgh, especially since the unit turned things around in Week 5. Despite having his worst game of the season against Miami in Week 14, Tom Brady is still the odds-on MVP favorite.

It’s hard to believe that the Steelers will be able to contain the Patriots’ offense, which ranks second in yards and fourth in points. The devastating injury to linebacker Ryan Shazier has left a glaring hole in Pittsburgh's defense, which almost cost the Steelers their Week 14 matchup when they allowed the Baltimore Ravens to score 38 points.

Bill Belichick and Tom Brady own Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger in big games, and Sunday should be more of the same.

Prediction: New England over Pittsburgh, 34-23