FOXBOROUGH — Sunday’s Patriots-Steelers matchup originally was billed as a meeting between two great quarterbacks, Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger, until Roethlisberger was ruled out of the game this week following meniscus surgery.

Tom Brady-Landry Jones doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but Brady said he wasn’t taking the Pittsburgh backup lightly. He also wished Roethlisberger well in his recovery, which might be 4-6 weeks, according to ESPN.

“I think he’s been such a great player, and any time, you always want to go against the best players,’’ Brady said Wednesday. “He’s one of the reasons why they’ve been such a great team for as long as — we’ve had so many memorable games against that team, some really important moments, and it seems like he’s been a part of those.

“It’s tough to see any injury for any player, and he’s obviously dealing with a significant one, but I’m sure they’ll still be ready to go.’’

An added challenge Brady will face Sunday will be the raucous crowd at Heinz Field. The Steelers are undefeated at home, and the Patriots will have to operate using a silent count.

“Whatever we do in terms of the count and so forth, it’s all about us trying to make sure — it could be, at home, it’s verbal communication, on the road, it’s nonverbal communication, and we work on those things pretty hard,’’ Brady said. “We practice them all week and we’re going to need to really utilize this week because it’s going to be a tough environment.’’

Brady also was asked his opinion of the Microsoft Surface tablets that coach Bill Belichick expressed his distaste for Tuesday. Brady said he hasn’t been troubled by them because, for the most part, he sees all he needs to on the field.

“I’ve never been too much of picture/tablet — I kind of know what I see,’’ he said. “I see out there and as soon as I come off the field, Josh [McDaniels] will say, ‘What was it?’ and I’ll say, ‘Oh, they did this and this guy dropped.’

“I’ll peek at them from time to time with Josh. It’s great for the coaches because they have a different angle. It’s hard to see when you’re seeing from the sideline. When you’re out there playing, a lot of times I can come over and tell Josh, ‘This is what happened and here’s why we did that.’ ’’

Burfict fined

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was fined by the NFL for his actions Sunday against the Patriots, but not for the hit you might think.

A league source confirmed that Burfict was fined $75,000 for trying to stomp on running back LeGarrette Blount in the fourth quarter as Blount attempted to get up from a pile. Burfict has already appealed the fine, according to the source.

But Burfict was not punished for his hit to Martellus Bennett’s knees in the third quarter when the Patriots tight end wasn’t looking. The NFL determined that the play was a legal cut block since the ball was in the air, and it wasn’t unnecessary roughness because the hit was not to the head/neck area. It also was not unnecessary roughness because Brady pump-faked in Bennett’s direction, and the throw then went in Bennett’s general direction, as well.

Said Bennett: “Doesn’t matter to me. It’s not like I get the money.’’

Burfict’s history as one of the NFL’s dirtiest players factored into him receiving the hefty fine. Burfict, a fifth-year veteran and a Pro Bowler in 2013, was suspended for the first three games of the 2016 season for repeated violations of the league’s player-safety rules, specifically for a nasty hit to the head of Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.

Injury report

The Patriots had perfect attendance at practice Wednesday. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has fully recovered from his training-camp hamstring tweak and was not listed on the injury report for the first time this season.

Offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Marcus Cannon also were removed from the injury report.

Ten players were limited in practice, including rookies Woodrow Hamilton (shoulder) and Elandon Roberts (ankle), who were added to the injury report. Bennett (ankle), Brandon Bolden (knee), Jamie Collins (hip), Julian Edelman (foot), Jimmy Garoppolo (right shoulder), Shea McClellin (concussion), Malcolm Mitchell (hamstring), and Vincent Valentine (back) were also limited.

As Belichick suggested Tuesday, running back Dion Lewis and guard Tre Jackson did not practice, indicating that they are still on the PUP list for at least another week. Tackle Sebastian Vollmer also remains on the PUP list, though he is not expected to be activated soon.

Hightower honored

Linebacker Dont’a Hightower was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after his standout game against the Bengals. Hightower registered a team-high 13 tackles and his key sack of Andy Dalton for a safety helped swing the game in the Patriots’ direction. It is the first such award of Hightower’s career . . . Stephen Gostkowski hasn’t been his near-flawless self this season, but special teams captain Matthew Slater trusts the kicker to figure things out. “If you play football long enough, there are going to be ups and downs,’’ Slater said. “I know we’re accustomed to around here, just in general with the Patriots, there being more ups than downs. But that’s part of football. With Stephen, I don’t need to give him a big pep talk or anything like that. I know that he’ll be OK.’’ . . . The Patriots are not taking Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell lightly. Asked about Bell, Belichick began his answer with, “Oh my God,’’ and safety Devin McCourty said that what makes the fleet-footed Steeler so good is “everything he does’’ . . . Craig Wrolstad, who will be the referee for Patriots-Steelers, also officiated the Patriots-Dolphins game in Week 2 and the Patriots-Chiefs playoff game last year.

Nora Princiotti can be reached at nora.princiotti@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @NoraPrinciotti.