Win a Patriots jersey, Vote for the Road to MetLife Stadium Patriots MVP - Week 9

As the Patriots begin their quest to MetLife Stadium for the Super Bowl, we've decided to chronicle that journey by highlighting the heroes from each game.

The Patriots game against the Steelers was a wild one. It was essentially the opposite of everything we've seen in a Patriots game so far this year. It was all offense, and not a lot of defense. Still, it was great to see the Patriots offense finally turn the corner, even if it was against the surprisingly lowly Steelers. Who was the hero of the game though? Tough decision.

Luckily for us, the burden of that decision falls to you.

All year long, we'll be running a contest to celebrate the Road to MetLife stadium, asking you guys to weigh in on who the MVP of each game is. As a reward, the jersey of the Patriots player to earn the most votes the entire year will be given away to a random person that weighed in on our weekly polls.

Here's how it works.

Each week, you will vote in the poll below for who you think deserves to win MVP for that week's game. Each vote earns you 1 entry into this raffle. That means if you vote every single week, you'll have a total of 16 entries. You can earn additional entries by liking us on facebook, following us on twitter, and tweeting about the contest. Please see below for easy access to doing all of that!

Contest

Prize: One jersey of the player that receives the most votes for MVP throughout the year.

How to Enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Winner: A winner will be randomly selected on New Year's Day - January 1st, 2014. The winner will be chosen from a pool of entries collected from every poll posted throughout the season. The more weeks you vote for the MVP, the more chances you have to win.

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So, now the question remains. Who was the hero of the game for the Patriots in their win over the Pittsburgh Steelers?

It should be obvious. 432 yards? 4 TDs? Tom Brady dialed it back to...2012. Going into the season, I would've thought Tom Brady would hold the MVP award, every week, so far he only has one. The Steelers game could be an indication that he will have many more to come.

Still, Brady wasn't doing it by himself. Stevan Ridley finally got the bulk of the carries and he delivered, punishing Pittsburgh on the ground and earning himself two touchdowns. Aaron Dobson also had two touchdowns through the air, both impressive as one was a backshoulder fade and the other was an 81 yard bomb.

Oh, and as if those two performances weren't enough, both Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola had their best games of the year. Gronk had the most catches of his career (in regular season) and Amendola went over 100 yards.

It wasn't all offense though. While the defense was getting lit up by Ben Roethlisberger, there were players that shined. Chandler Jones got himself two sacks, Devin McCourty had another impressive game in the secondary as he broke up a pass and picked off another. The unit has suffered a lot of injuries though and desperately needs Aqib Talib to come back healthy.

It should be an exciting year as the league journeys towards MetLife Stadium in February. We're looking forward to some victories and more Patriots MVPs! Make sure to vote today!

MVPs so far:

Week 1: Danny Amendola
Week 2: Aqib Talib
Week 3: Kenbrell Thompkins
Week 4: Aqib Talib
Week 5: Brandon Spikes
Week 6: Tom Brady
Week 7: Rob Gronkowski
Week 8: Logan Ryan

“In the spirit of full-disclosure, I’ve partnered with MetLife as part of the Road to MetLife Stadium Preferred Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving special access to MetLife Stadium events and be conducting reader giveaways, with prizes provided by MetLife. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own. “

“I am currently a member of the Road to MetLife Stadium Preferred Blogger Program and this post is part of my involvement. While MetLife provides me material and necessary resources to complete various activities, all statements and sentiment in PatriotsLife are my own.”