Pro Football Focus' biggest Patriots nemesis since 2006 might surprise you

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The New England Patriots have dominated the NFL since Pro Football Focus was created in 2006.

The Pats have made six Super Bowl appearances and won three championships over that span, but that hasn't stopped certain players from giving consistently excellent performances against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.

PFF recently researched the top "team killers' in the NFL. They listed every team and the player with the highest overall grade against each of the 32 clubs (minimum 300 snaps). The highest-graded player versus the Patriots since 2006 is Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with a 90.5 grade.

Here's what PFF had to say about Big Ben's success against New England:

Sure to upset the #QBWINZ crowd, Roethlisberger comes out as the top-graded player against the Patriots despite being just 4-8 against Brady and company. The tape shows, however, that the subpar record hasn’t been his fault. Big Ben’s touchdown to interception ratio of 18-to-10 doesn’t overly impress, but his big-time throw to turnover-worthy play ratio of 28:8 is much more impressive. The discrepancy indicates that luck hasn’t been on his side in the matchup, but that doesn’t detract from him playing at a high level.

Roethlisberger's inability to beat Brady, including a pair of AFC Championship Game losses, makes this result a bit of a surprise. Von Miller of the Denver Broncos would've been a good guess for the Patriots' nemesis, and it turns out he's PFF's "team killer" for the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Chargers. 

It'll be interesting to see how long Roethlisberger remains the highest-graded player versus the Patriots. Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who like Roethlisberger, plays well against the Pats but has trouble beating them, probably will overtake the Steelers QB when he hits 300 career snaps against New England.

Brady was the top-rated player versus the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets, while Rob Gronkowski was the highest-graded player against the Steelers and Denver Broncos, according to PFF. 

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