FOXBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - The New England Patriots are still riding the high of their Super Bowl LIII win, but Tom Brady said it best, they can’t let that distract them from their new season.

The team’s only focus Sunday night is the Pittsburgh Steelers and starting the season with a win.

“Yeah, it’s pretty great, we’ve had a great rivalry against those guys and played a lot of meaningful games,” Brady said.

Brady is facing the Steelers for the 15th time in his career, but even he knows there will be some surprises.

“We don’t know how it’s going to go, you put up a plan, you think it’s going to work or else you wouldn’t have confidence in it, and then you get into the ring, so-to-speak, and then you go at it,” Brady said. “They’re going to show us a lot of things we haven’t seen, and that’s just the way the early part of the football season goes.”

Leading the Steelers into Foxborough is Ben Roethlisberger, one of the league’s strongest and craftiest quarterbacks.

Patriots defensive lineman Michael Bennett said, “It’s kind of like tackling a truck, you know, he ‘s kind of hard to tackle, just a strong guy, he’s able to stand, be in the pocket and being able to still throw the ball with guys hanging off of him.”

Patriots defensive captain Devin McCourty said, “This will be one of the toughest games we’ll probably have all year, so playing against this team, week one, week ten, week 12, it’s always gonna be a tough game.”

No matter his age or the season, there’s nobody the Patriots would rather have leading the way on their side is Brady.

Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman said, “I mean, he looks like Tom Brady, it’s a testament to how hard he works, not only during the season but in the offseason and how he takes care of himself, you know, he looks great.”

Brady says the competition begins will how well you can get your team prepared and continue it on through the season.

Kick-off begins at 8:20 p.m.

(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Join our Newsletter for the latest news right to your inbox