Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Wednesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
--Wednesday will mark the first practice of the week for the Patriots, which means the first chance we'll get to see where they are, health-wise, heading into Pittsburgh this weekend. It didn't appear they suffered any major injuries against the Dolphins, but we'll see if anything has developed between then and now.
--John Parry has been announced the referee for Sunday's game. The veteran official has worked several notable New England games in the past, including Super Bowl XLVI. This is his first Patriots' game of the 2018 season. Check out his record here.
--Looks like it's going to be cool with a chance of precipitation Sunday in Pittsburgh. Big difference from Miami.
Wednesday’s Schedule
11:45 a.m.: Bill Belichick press availability (media workroom)
12:30 p.m.: Media availability at practice
12:55 p.m.: Conference call with Mike Tomlin (media workroom)
4-4:45 p.m.: Approximate time for player availability (locker room) and James White availability (media workroom)
Now, on with the links...
1. The AFC Playoff Picture will come into sharper focus with this week's Chargers-Chiefs and Patriots-Steelers games.
2. I dropped this week's edition of the official BSJ NFL Power Rankings. The Saints angled their way back to the top of the big board, but there was plenty of movement with the other 31. Check out where your team ended up.
3. You want to get a sense of just how successful the Patriots are week-to-week on offense? Check out their first-quarter rushing stats.
4. I had three takeaways from Tuesday's conference calls with Belichick, Brian Flores and Josh McDaniels -- on run defense, end-of-game scenarios and the toughness of Rob Gronkowski.
5. Greg spent some quality time with the guys from Felger & Mazz Tuesday afternoon.
6. Here are the complete transcripts of Tuesday's conference calls with New England's coaching staff.
7. You want the complete list of clinching scenarios for every team this week, including the Patriots? You got it.
8. On Tuesday, Ben Roethlisberger explained what happened with his injury last weekend against the Raiders, and added that while he's sore, he expects to play Sunday against New England.
9. Tomlin is being coy about the availability of James Conner for this week's game, saying practice will ultimately tell the tale as to whether or not he'll be able to go.
10. After the week started with no line because of the uncertainty around Roethlisberger's health, the Patriots have been installed as a 2.5-point favorite.
Extra Point:
#Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, “We hear that a lot, ‘You guys haven’t had a lot of success against the #Patriots.’ Well, who has?!”
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) December 11, 2018