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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Randy Moss finally played like Randy Moss.
One touchdown on a pass in the deep right corner of the end zone. Another when he outleaped the cornerback on the left side. And a third on which he lowered his shoulder, knocking back a would-be tackler who couldn’t stop him from crossing the goal line.
But that was last Sunday against the Miami Dolphins and their mediocre pass defense.
On Sunday, his New England Patriots must find a way to score against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL’s best defense against the pass and the run.
“They are very sound in what they do so you have to be just as sound offensively when you play against them or else you end up making mistakes,” Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said Tuesday. “They are capitalizing on a lot of those. You have to avoid those situations.”
Last season, Moss had seven catches for 135 yards and two touchdowns, one a 63-yarder, in a 34-13 win over the Steelers. And the Patriots have averaged 39.5 points in their past two games with Matt Cassel throwing for a total of 815 yards and three touchdowns.
Until Sunday’s 48-28 win at Miami, Moss’s production was far below last year’s as teams double-teamed him after Tom Brady was sidelined for the season in the opener, replaced by an inexperienced Cassel.
But after 10 straight starts together, the Cassel-Moss combo is clicking in time for the Patriots (7-4) to face the Steelers (8-3) in a game with big playoff implications.
“I’m always amazed at what Randy can do,” Cassel said. “He’s got amazing hands, his body control, and how he’s able to control the defender with his body, and then go up and get the ball. He’s a special player and those guys don’t come around much, so I’m lucky to be on the same team with him.”
And Moss is feeling better about playing with Cassel.
“Matt is getting in the comfort zone,” Moss said after the win over the Dolphins. “He’s playing some hellified ball.”
So is Pittsburgh’s defense.
The Steelers have allowed 235.4 yards per game, 99.3 fewer than the Dolphins. Opponents have averaged just 168.5 yards passing and 14.5 points. The Patriots had 260 yards and 17 points in the first half against Miami.
“Nobody has gotten 300 yards against them and about half of their possessions are three and out,” New England coach Bill Belichick said. “They are really solid across the board. It is no one man band.”
Last Sunday, Moss saw a strange sight as he lined up at wide receiver — only one defender covering him. So Cassel went to him more often than he did in any game, eight catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns, all season highs. Moss had averaged 4.6 catches for 61.5 yards in his first 10 games and had just five touchdowns.
Last season, his first with the Patriots, he had 98 receptions for 1,493 yards (averages of 5.5 and 93.3) and an NFL-record 23 touchdown catches.