After knocking off Atlanta in Week 1, the Steelers hit the road Sunday to take on the New England Patriots. Pittsburgh lost by a score of 20-3, falling to 1-1 on the year.
The Steelers got the ball to start the game and did nothing with it after going three-and-out. They’d punt to the Patriots, who quickly moved the ball down the field with a long throw to Hunter Henry. But on the very next play, Nick Herbig knocked the ball out of Rhamondre Stevenson’s hands, and the Steelers recovered the fumble.
Unable to take advantage of that turnover, the Steelers quickly had to punt again. And it didn’t take long for New England to make a big play of its own. From 39 yards out, TreVeyon Henderson was helped by some excellent blocking and weaved through Steelers defenders on his way to the end zone. The extra point made it a 7-0 game.
The Steelers worked methodically on their next drive and got into field goal range. But Chris Boswell missed the 57-yard attempt, and the score remained the same. The Patriots took over with good field position, and it didn’t take long for them to start knocking on the door. But the Steelers didn’t break defensively, and New England had to settle for a 30-yard field goal to make it a 10-0 game.
Thanks to several big catches by Germie Bernard, the Steelers were able to work down the field on the next drive. But on third down, Aaron Rodgers took a massive hit and fumbled. The ball was knocked around several times and went about 30 yards down the field before Troy Fautanu finally recovered. That made it 4th-and-43, and the Steelers had to punt. Fortunately, the defense stepped up and quickly got the offense the ball back.
With Rico Dowdle injured, Travis Homer came into the game and ran for 14 yards to get the Steelers moving. But again, the drive stalled, with Cameron Johnston punting into the end zone for a touchback. The Steelers held strong defensively once again, with a sack from T.J. Watt helping to force a punt with about a minute left in the first half.
The Steelers worked themselves to midfield and were helped by a delay of game penalty on the Patriots, who tried to call back-to-back timeouts. That allowed Chris Boswell to attempt a 56-yard kick, which he made as time expired. The Steelers went into the locker room trailing the Patriots 10-3.
Starting the second half with the ball, Drake Maye found Romeo Doubs for a long completion on third down. But on the very next snap, Maye underthrew his receiver and Patrick Queen picked it off.
The Steelers’ offense began the second half just as timid as it did the first. The Steelers did move the chains a couple of times but continued to struggle on third down and had to punt around midfield. The Patriots gave themselves a quick jolt offensively, with Stevenson running up the middle for 24 yards, then picking up nine on the very next drive. But Herbig blew up a third-down play to force a 47-yard field goal that Andres Borregales missed, and the score remained 10-3.
The Steelers still found no life on offense. They went three-and-out, with DK Metcalf dropping another pass on third down. New England was able to flip the field on the first play of their next drive, with Maye finding Romeo Doubs for a 63-yard gain. The defense did hold up, though, forcing Maye into a throwaway on third down. Borregales attempted and made a 45-yard kick to extend the lead to 13-3.
The Steelers found themselves in second-and-long, and with Rodgers dropping back to pass, Christian Barmore jarred the ball loose. Elijah Ponder scooped it up and ran 19 yards for a touchdown. New England went up 20-3 a minute and a half into the fourth quarter. The offensive line’s struggles continued on the next drive, with Rodgers sacked on third down ahead of another Steelers punt.
The Steelers got the ball back thanks to a drop from Doubs on third down. The Patriots started to play more prevent defense, which allowed the Steelers to start moving the ball. They got as far as the three-yard line, thanks to a long catch and run from Jaylen Warren. But things unraveled as Aaron Rodgers was sacked for a loss of nearly 15, then Germie Bernard bobbled a pass on the next play, and the throw ended up being picked by Gabe Jacas.
New England would have to punt, and Pittsburgh got the ball back with a little over three minutes left with Mason Rudolph checking into the game. That drive again went nowhere, and the Steelers punted. The Patriots ran out the clock and beat the Steelers 20-3.
The Steelers now move to 1-1 on the year. They’ll return home next week to face their first divisional opponent of the year in the Cincinnati Bengals.