FOXBORO — When the Patriots take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, it will be your proverbial case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.

Having amassed a combined 1,044 yards of offense and 79 points over the last two weeks, the Patriots have been that unstoppable force.

Having allowed an NFL-low 235.4 yards per game and 14.5 points per game this season, the Steelers are the immovable object.

Something will have to give when the teams meet on Sunday.

“It is a big challenge for us this week,” head coach Bill Belichick said. “There’s a lot to get ready for in all three phases of the game. The Steelers are really sound. They are well coached, they are tough and they are a hard team to beat. You have to go out there and play well and do things well against them. They are not going to make too many mistakes and make it easy for you. You are going to have to work for everything you get.”

Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said, “You have to take your opportunities when they give them to you. Whether that means run the ball, throw it short, throw it in the immediate area or even at times to go down the field. 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.”

LeBeau lauded

Belichick gives a lot of credit for the Steelers’ defense, which traditionally has been one of the best in the NFL, to defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.

Considered the architect of the Steelers’ famed “zone blitz,” which employs unpredictable pass rushes and pass coverages from various formations, LeBeau is in his fifth year of his second tour of duty as the Steelers’ defensive coordinator.

Since LeBeau was rehired as the Steelers’ defensive coordinator in 2004, their defense has been ranked among the top nine in the NFL all five seasons, including this one, and it has finished first in total defense twice (this year would make it three times).

“I think his respect in the league from everybody that I know is immense,” Belichick said of LeBeau. “He was a great player in this league and he has been a great defensive coach for a long time, whether it’s been an assistant or the head coach. I think he is as well respected as anybody in the game defensively.”

Polamalu a concern

Belichick thinks Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu, who is tied for first in the NFL with four other players for the most interceptions (five), is one of the best in the league, and says the Patriots will need to know where he is on the field at all times.

“He is very fast, quick, is a tough guy, good tackler, very aggressive and is very instinctive,” Belichick said. “He really has a nose for the ball. He has a good level of anticipation on what is going to happen. I would say that he is a guy that whenever he is on the field you have to be aware of him.”

Belichick said Polamalu is as important to Pittsburgh’s secondary as Rodney Harrison was to the Patriots’.

“They make plays in every aspect of the game,” Belichick said of the two. “They blitz. They tackle. They cover. They knock balls down. They intercept them. They play with great emotion, competitiveness and toughness. They take on anybody — guards, tackles, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

No comment on fight

When asked if there were any updates on the Matt Light-Channing Crowder incident on Sunday, Belichick said, “I don’t have anything to add on it.”

roblee@projo.com