The New England Patriots' season was supposed to end at the beginning, the day Tom Brady was knocked out in the opener. So, why are the Steelers preparing for a visit to Foxborough, Mass., Sunday against a playoff contender and the NFL's seventh-best offense?

The answer is Matt Cassel, a name only his family and Bill Belichick knew before Sept. 7.

Cassel, in Brady-like fashion, has kept the 7-4 Patriots in the playoff hunt, one game behind the New York Jets in the AFC East. New England is within a victory Sunday of tying the Steelers and joining them and others in a dash to the finish for the No. 2 playoff seed.

The fourth-year pro, who had not started a game since high school, became only the fifth quarterback in NFL history Sunday to throw for more than 400 yards in consecutive games, something Brady never accomplished. Cassel ranks 10th among NFL passers with a 90.5 rating (Ben Roethlisberger is 20th at 80.5).

If Belichick's reputation took a hit over "Spygate," it's making a comeback as his team remains a player without Brady.

"I don't think that anybody in this industry thinks that coach Belichick is not a great coach," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "Injuries are a big part of it. They are dealing with injury, and this is not the first time that they have been successful while dealing with injuries. Anybody that is going to be successful has to be able to do that."

Tomlin said, "I think it's obvious they've got a great deal of confidence in what this young man is doing for them. And, yes, they're willing to do whatever it is they deem necessary for them to win. He threw quite a few times last week, over 400 yards. I think his numbers speak for themselves. He's got a plus-90 quarterback rating. He's shown that he's a player in this league at that position. Good for them."

Tomlin almost visibly shrugged when he spoke about Cassel's fairy tale story at his news conference yesterday.

"I'm not surprised. Nothing surprises me in this league, truth be known. I was part of a team that won a world championship with a guy that didn't start in college at quarterback by the name of Brad Johnson, who's 40 and still playing in the National Football League."

Johnson, though, was not the epicenter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they won the Super Bowl in 2003. Brady was everything to the Patriots and the main reason they were 18-0 entering the previous Super Bowl. It has taken Cassel and his team some time to adjust, but they appear to have weathered the early storms and enter the game Sunday at the top of theirs.

"Cassel is doing an awesome job," Tomlin said. "He's spreading the football around to a variety of receivers and doing a nice job of running their offense in its many forms."

He also has Roethlisberger-like ability to escape a rush at 6 feet 4, 230 pounds. He has run 53 times for 199 yards, but he also has been sacked in Big Ben fashion -- 34 times this season, two fewer than Roethlisberger. And that won't be the Miami Dolphins' defense he'll play on Sunday.

"He's surprisingly mobile," Tomlin said. "You've seen the highlights, you know that he can make many of the throws on the field. He's doing a good job of communicating, identifying the potential hots and running their offense.

"The added element that he brings is his ability to buy time and create as plays lag on or as pockets break down. He was their leading rusher against the [New York] Jets. He's got 200 yards rushing on the season. He's a big reason they're seventh in the league in rushing. His escapability is an issue, and it's an issue that you don't have to deal with historically preparing to play New England."

• Who: Steelers (8-3) vs. Patriots (7-4).

• When: 4:15 p.m.

• Where: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.

• TV: KDKA.