5 takeaways from the Patriots’ 27-16 win over the Steelers
COMMENTARY
After the Patriots got ahead early, the Steelers closed to within a point as the middle of the third quarter approached Sunday. The Pittsburgh crowd was energized. The home team seemed to be putting things together on both sides of the ball.
And that’s when, with adversity mounting, the visitors learned something about themselves.
“You get glimpses of what your team is all about. Our guys hung in there and fought hard,” quarterback Tom Brady said of his Patriots. “It’s tough to win on the road in the NFL, especially against a good team.”
The Steelers are among the best teams in the AFC when fully stocked, though New England answered their challenge with two big plays from Rob Gronkowski and touchdowns on each of its next two possessions, ultimately leading to a 27-16 triumph. Here are five takeaways from a big win — that could prove to grow even bigger as it comes time to seed the AFC playoffs:
Pats’ running backs are an asset
In his fourth season in New England, Patriots fans have seen enough of LeGarrette Blount to know his flaws, to know there are games he disappears, weeks in which his consistency wavers, and too many times when he’s slow to slam his ample body into the hole. But as they’ve seen before — and as he’s shown throughout the early part of this season — when it’s working for him, Blount is an absolute weapon.
That was the case again Sunday for September’s AFC offensive player of the month, as he eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the third time in 2016, and scored twice to bring his total to eight touchdowns over the first seven games. It was also the fourth time he’s had more than 20 carries, and his production increased over the second half, when the Pats’ offense had begun to sputter and Pittsburgh had closed within a point. While the Steelers did surrender more than 200 rushing yards to Miami’s Jay Ajayi last week, they had limited four of their first five foes to 87 yards or less on the ground.
On top of Blount’s two scores, James White also came out of the backfield to find pay dirt, scoring on a 19-yard catch and run. White isn’t the flashiest player, and could be considered expendable. But since Dion Lewis went down last season, and White stepped into the role of the Pats’ pass-catching back, Sunday’s was his seventh receiving score. He’s also rushed for two touchdowns, in those 15 games. That’s an average of 0.64 touchdowns per tilt. That’s better than his three predecessors. Lewis averaged 0.57 scores in his opportunity. Shane Vereen was at 0.38 over his two best seasons with the Pats, while Danny Woodhead’s best two seasons accumulated an average of 0.43.
The point is, New England’s running backs can hurt opponents.
Emphasis on Edelman is telling
After totaling 14 catches over the first two weeks of the season, Julian Edelman totaled just 14 grabs over his next four games, and in the meantime missed practice with soreness in the foot that forced him out for a long stretch last season. Those 14 catches came in 27 passes thrown his way, too, a strikingly inefficient percentage for one of the Patriots’ go-to targets.
Sunday, however, Edelman eased some of those concerns. With the Steelers bent on taking away big plays and limiting the Pats’ twin tight ends, Edelman produced nine catches on 10 targets, totaling 60 receiving yards. The only pass thrown his way that fell incomplete was one he blatantly dropped. Not only was Edelman able to get open underneath the Pittsburgh defense, but he and Brady were operating on their familiar wavelength.
Put those reassurances on top of the production of the running backs and the pervasive threat presented by Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, and it underscores the variety of ways the Patriots can do damage.
Gostkowski is a legitimate concern
The worry isn’t necessarily that Stephen Gostkowski has missed three field goal attempts already this season, or that Sunday’s missed extra point was his third in the past eight games. The concern is that it’s now been more than a month since the problem first surfaced and yet it doesn’t appear as though the kicker or his coaches are any closer to getting it corrected.
Gostkowski’s latest miss again leaked wide to the right. Repeatedly pushing the ball in that direction would suggest the issue is physical, and in theory the fix shouldn’t be difficult to identify or implement. It’s not like this is a duff golfer trying to correct the slice that’s killed him forever. Gostkowski is among the most accurate kickers in NFL history, and is coming off a three-year run that rivals the best stretch of seasons a kicker has ever enjoyed.
So that could indicate the issue is something bigger. Mental blocks of any sort can be difficult to overcome for any athlete in any sport. If Gostkowski’s problem is in his head, there’s no telling when his confidence will be back. Or if these misses are a reflection that after 10-plus seasons his leg isn’t the same as it used to be, and this is evidence of a broader physical issue, it calls into question whether he’ll ever again be the threat New England has come to expect.
And if the Patriots can fully trust him moving forward.
The Steelers are a major threat
With Ben Roethlisberger healing a surgically repaired knee, it’s impossible to make any declarations about the Patriots’ defense based on Sunday’s performance. On the other side, the 255 yards from scrimmage totaled by Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell only validated the notion that the Steelers’ offense would be a major worry if New England drew Pittsburgh in the postseason — particularly assuming the Steelers’ quarterback is available.
Ultimately, the Patriots held tough and tightened up. After backup quarterback Landry Jones went 14 for 20 for 179 yards in the first half, he slowed to 15 for 27 and 102 yards in the second. And although he was able to hit on consecutive third-and-10 throws to rookie Cobi Hamilton during a late drive when Brown was hobbled, the Steelers didn’t reach the end zone after intermission. Overall, Pittsburgh finished just 5 of 16 on third down.
Yet, the complexion of the game could’ve easily been different, even independent of the Steelers’ quarterback situation. After Chris Hogan fumbled on the Pats’ first play, Pittsburgh missed a scoring chance when Malcolm Butler made an interception in the end zone. In the second quarter it missed a field goal after getting to the New England 14. Then before the half they got to the red zone again and came away with just three points. With Jones behind center, Pittsburgh finished 1 for 4 in the red zone — after Roethlisberger’s attack entered the game ranked third NFL-wide with a 78.6 percent success rate inside the opponents’ 20.
The Pats control the standings
That all considered about Pittsburgh’s potent offense, Sunday’s result leaves it looking rather unlikely that a Steelers-Patriots rematch would be played at Heinz Field. It also puts New England in a golden position within both its conference and division.
By owning the head-to-head tiebreaker, the Pats (6-1) effectively have a 2.5-game lead over the Steelers (4-3), who many consider the AFC’s second-best squad. Looking elsewhere in the conference, the only other AFC teams with more than four wins after Week 7 will be the Raiders (5-2) and whichever club wins Monday night’s game between the Texans and Broncos (both entering 4-2). Given that the Raiders have to contend with a highly competitive AFC West, and the Pats have tiebreaker advantages over both the Texans and Steelers, New England is on the fast track to a first-round bye and home-field advantage.
The Patriots also have a chance to put a stronghold on the AFC East next week. The Bills lost to the Dolphins on Sunday, so when the Patriots visit Orchard Park next weekend it’ll be with a chance to stretch their divisional lead to three games while erasing the Bills’ advantage in head-to-head play as it enters its bye.
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