FOXBORO — The Patriots, uncharacteristically, have been brutal on the road this season.

Fortunately for Tom Brady and Co., their final regular-season game away from Gillette Stadium is Sunday at Heinz Field.

That’s been a comfortable spot for Brady for a long, long time.

“We’ve played them so many times in a lot of meaningful games,” Brady said at yesterday’s press conference. “I think we’ve seen a lot of different things.”

The Patriots-Steelers rivalry has been defined by two things: The longevity and brilliance of the two quarterbacks, and Pittsburgh’s complete ineptitude against the New England passing game.

In the 2016 AFC Championship, the Steelers zone coverages were shredded by Brady. He hung 384 yards and three touchdowns on the board in a 36-17 rout that spiraled out of control from the beginning. The Steelers allowed 180 yards and two touchdowns to Chris Hogan, who several times found himself running uncovered deep down the field.

The following offseason, several Steelers defensive players vowed that they wouldn’t play so much zone the next time they faced Brady and the Patriots.

And there was some truth to that. In Week 15 a year ago, a game that ultimately decided the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Steelers utilized more man-to-man coverage. That backfired tremendously on the final drive, when Brady hit Rob Gronkowski on three consecutive completions for 69 yards against Steelers safety Sean Davis.

This season, it’s back to the drawing board against Brady.

“These guys have rarely changed coaches but their defense has still evolved a little bit,” Brady said. “We’re pretty much prepared for everything. They can do whatever they want to do. They have a chance to put in a game plan. They’re going to do whatever they think is best to stop us and vice versa. We know their players pretty well. They’ve got some new guys, but we know the scheme.”

For his career, Brady is 11-2 against the Steelers, completing 69.4 percent of his passes for 294.6 yards per game with 30 touchdowns and four interceptions. Those are MVP-caliber numbers.

Brady is slightly worse on the road at Pittsburgh, averaging 267 passing yards per game with eight touchdowns and one interception.

Brady’s opponent, Roethlisberger, has lit up the New England defense in his past three home matchups with the Pats. He’s averaged 344.3 passing yards in those games, but the Steelers lost two of them.

From Brady’s perspective, Roethlisberger has always been a player to admire.

“He’s as tough as they come,” Brady said. “He’s always been available for that team. I remember there was one game he didn’t start because of his foot and then the guy got hurt, Ben came in as a backup and threw for like 300 or something like that, some ridiculous stat. He’s just tough, been a great quarterback in the league for a long time.”

“He’s got such a unique style,” Brady added. “He’s just an incredible player, prolific passer, great accurate passer. They’ve just had incredible passing offenses. His style is very different and he’s just big, stands in the pocket, has great presence. He’s not really a runner but he extends a lot of plays and makes huge plays for their team.”

What’s separated Brady and Roethlisberger in their recent head-to-head meetings: Brady’s ball security has been far superior to Roethlisberger’s.

Roethlisberger has thrown at least one interception in eight consecutive games against the Patriots. His gaffe in the closing seconds last year may have cost Pittsburgh the No. 1 seed.

Brady, meanwhile, has only been intercepted by the Steelers once in their past eight meetings.

Like last year’s showdown, Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh could set the stage for the rest of the Patriots season. Brady knows he must be at his sharpest.

“We’ve got a lot of football ahead of us and December’s when it matters,” Brady said. “It matters year-round but there’s so few games left, everyone’s fighting for these spots that are very valuable. We put ourselves in a decent position. It hasn’t been perfect, but everything’s ahead of us.”