Patriots top Steelers, 21-18: Quick observations after Patriots snap 5-game losing streak
Bailey Zappe threw three touchdowns in the first half, while New England’s defense stood tall in crunch time.
The Patriots are back in the win column.
It wasn’t pretty, but a strong first half from Bailey Zappe and a stingy showing from New England’s defense in crunch time paved the way for a 21-18 win over the Steelers Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium.
The Patriots are now 3-10 on the season, while the Steelers are 7-6.
Here are a few early observations after New England snapped a five-game losing streak.
Zappe, Patriots offense torch Steelers in first half
Perhaps the Patriots should have made the switch from Mac Jones to Bailey Zappe a bit earlier on the NFL calendar.
After scoring just 13 total points over their previous three games, Zappe and New England’s offense looked like a completely different team against the sixth-ranked defense in the NFL — at least in the early going.
Just four days after Zappe and New England’s offensive personnel were held out of the red zone entirely against Los Angeles, the second-year QB completed 19 of his 28 pass attempts for 240 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He finished the game with a 115.2 rating.
It was an about-face for a New England offense marred by a dearth of explosive plays and critical execution all season long. The Patriots’ 303 total yards gained on Thursday were even more impressive considering the missing personnel on New England’s depth chart.
Not only was New England missing Rhamondre Stevenson in the trenches, but it also didn’t have wideouts Demario Douglas, DeVante Parker, and Kayshon Bouute.
But even with an expected diminished supporting cast, Zappe and the Patriots got to work early against Pittsburgh — gaining 75 yards on just eight plays en route to an opening touchdown reception from Ezekiel Elliott.
It was the first time all season that New England has scored an opening-drive touchdown — and New England’s second TD overall since Nov. 5.
With Pittsburgh’s offense sputtering, Zappe and Co. continued to land punches as the first half carried on — with Hunter Henry reeling in a pair of touchdown catches in the second quarter to give New England some early breathing room.
Along with getting some good air on his passes, Zappe’s pocket presence allowed him to extend a few plays, step up against pressure, and deliver a few timely throws to move the chains.
Zappe and the Patriots entered the half with a 21-10 lead.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Zappe was the first New England signal caller to throw three touchdowns in the first half of a game since Tom Brady in 2018.
The second half was a different story for New England’s offense, however.
What was once looking like a comfortable win for the Patriots turned into a close contest down the stretch, with Zappe and New England’s offense unable to deliver a knockout blow as Pittsburgh started to crawl back into the game.
On New England’s six drives of the second half, five ended in punts — while one was cut short after Zappe’s pass was picked off by Mykal Walker.
It was far from perfect. But Thursday was still a major step in the right direction for New England’s offense.
Defense scraps its way to a win
For the first time in over a month, New England’s defense relinquished over 10 points in a game.
But for the first time in a long time, a strong showing from that side of the ball was rewarded with a win.
Yes, Mitch Trubisky sure isn’t Ben Roethlisberger. He isn’t even Kenny Pickett.
But New England’s tenacious defense once again submitted an impressive performance — especially in the second half when the Patriots’ offense started to fall back to Earth.
As he’s done all season long, Jabrill Peppers set the tone for New England in the first half — intercepting Trubisky and bringing it all the way to Pittsburgh’s 11-yard line.
Just two plays later, Zappe hit Henry in the end zone to give New England a 14-3 advantage.
Even after Zappe was knocked for a pick in the final seconds of the third quarter, New England bailed him out with a critical red-zone stand.
Mike Tomlin and Pittsburgh opted to go for it on a 4th-and-2 sequence at New England’s eight-yard line — with Mack Wilson ultimately bringing Jaylen Warren down a yard short to force a turnover on downs.
A brutal blocked punt against New England’s special-teams unit put New England’s defense in another tough spot en route to a Steelers touchdown in the fourth quarter.
But even with Pittsburgh granted several chances to pull off the comeback, New England’s defense stood tall in crunch time. With 2:01 left on the clock and Pittsburgh in another 4th-and-2 situation, Trubisky aired out a deep ball to Diontae Johnson — with Jonathan Jones denying him in coverage to snuff out one of the Steelers’ final shots of the evening.
Special teams keep struggling
New England’s offense rebounded for the first half of Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh. But the same can’t be said for a lackluster special-teams unit.
Just minutes after New England’s defense stood tall on a fourth-quarter, 4th-and-2 situation in the red zone, Pittsburgh was handed prime field position after Bryce Baringer’s punt was blocked.
Pittsburgh started on New England’s 26-yard line, eventually getting eight points on the drive to turn the rest of Thursday’s game into a nail-biter.
This unit was also bailed out by officials later in the fourth quarter. On a 4th-and-3 situation, Pittsburgh was set to punt with under five minutes to go. Jahlani Tavai jumped on the play, with the Patriots linebacker visibly upset after seemingly extending Pittsburgh’s drive.
But the officials ultimately called a false start on Pittsburgh C Christian Kuntz, forcing the Steelers to ultimately punt it away. A major break for New England, to say the least.
JuJu breaks through, Elliott thrives as featured back
With New England trudging forward without both Douglas and Parker, New England’s starting receiver group on Thursday night featured JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, and Malik Cunningham.
As noted by NESN.com’s Zack Cox, Kendrick Bourne has more catches, yards and touchdowns than all of these players combined — and he hasn’t played in a game since Oct. 29.
But after recording just 170 total receiving yards in his first 10 games of the season, Smith-Schuster broke through with four catches for 90 yards. Smith-Schuster set the tone early with a 37-yard catch on New England’s opening drive, offering up a sign of things to come in Zappe’s pass-heavy first half.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, Zappe’s 37-yard completion to Smith-Schuster on New England’s opening drive was the Patriots’ first completion of 30+ air yards this season. The Patriots were 0-of-18 on those throws this season entering the night, the only team without such a completion.
It was a much-needed response from New England’s top-free pickup, but the most consistent playmaker next to Zappe on Thursday was Elliott.
Stepping into a featured role for New England following Stevenson’s ankle injury, Elliott scored a first-quarter touchdown and finished with 140 total yards — including seven receptions.
Elliott also saved a potential Steelers touchdown, landing the tackle on Walker after he picked off Zappe.
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Follow along here for live updates from Thursday’s game in Pittsburgh, and check back once the game wraps for some early observations.
LIVE UPDATES
11:18: Final: Patriots beat the Steelers, 21-18.
11:10: Huge play by Jonathan Jones to force a turnover on downs.
11:03: But New England’s offense can’t deliver the knockout blow. Steelers have another shot.
10:55: Pittsburgh gets flagged for a false start.
10:53: Trubisky sneaks it through on fourth down. Steelers still burn a timeout, however.
10:50: Dugger nearly picks off the screen play.
10:39: Trubisky runs it in. We’ve got a game. 2-point conversion is good.
21-18 game.
10:38: Great play by Mack Wilson to bat down that pass.
10:33: Patriots will need their defense to deliver again. A blocked punt gives Pittsburgh prime field position.
10:30: Huge stand for New England’s defense to start the fourth quarter. Mack Wilson makes the stop with one yard to go. Zappe’s interception doesn’t cost them.
10:27: End Third: Patriots holding a 21-10 edge.
10:24: Zappe makes his first big boo-boo of the game. Mykal Walker picks him off. Big moment for New England’s defense.
10:22: Zeke Elliott now up to 100 total yards from scrimmage.
10:20: Anfernee Jennings has been a force against the run tonight.
10:16: New England’s drive stalls after the pocket collapses and Zappe is sacked. New England’s pass protection was strong out of the gate, but it’s become an issue as this game has carried on.
10:07: A seven-minute drive for the Steelers … that ultimately stalls with a punt. 32 total yards on that whole sequence.
9:43: Halftime: Patriots hold a 21-10 lead over Pittsburgh. Who say that coming?
9:39: Ex-Patriot Elandon Roberts brings down Zappe for the sack. Seems like Zappe was flexing his elbow there.
9:32: Unnecessary penalty for Schooler to take there. He’s had issues this year keeping his cool.
9:27: The Steelers have some life. Trubisky connects on a touchdown to Johnson with JC Jackson in coverage. 21-10.
Time to see how Zappe and Co. respond before the half.
9:19: This Patriots offense is balling out. What a throw from Zappe to Hunter Henry for his second touchdown of the game.
Zappe is 11-of-17 with 3 TDs and a 136.8 rating.
21-3 Patriots.
9:01: What is this and what have they done with the old Patriots offense?
Zappe hits Henry in the end zone for a touchdown. 14-3 Patriots.
Great complementary football after Peppers’ pick.
8:57: Jabrill Peppers with the pick. He keeps on making plays.
8:45: Great play by Zappe to avoid pressure, step up and deliver a throw to JuJu for the first down.
8:43: Another punt for Pittsburgh’s offense.
8:40: Patriots punt on their second drive. Henry knocked for an OPI to stall that sequence.
8:32: Boswell connects from 56 yards. 7-3 game.
8:29: JC Jackson gets the pick against Trubisky, but it’s coming back. Jackson whistled for DPI.
8:22: The Patriots … scored?? New England scores on their opening drive for the first time this season. Elliott finds the end zone on a brisk drive by Zappe and Co.
7-0 Patriots.
8:19: Well, look at that. 37-yard pickup from JuJu Smith-Schuster. He had 170 receiving yards over 10 games entering tonight.
8:17: Patriots offensive starters: McDermott, Strange, Andrews, Sow, Onwenu, Henry, P. Brown, Thornton, Smith-Schuster, Elliott, Zappe.
8:16: Steelers win the coin toss and they defer. Zappe and Co. get the ball first.
8:08: Give Amazon credit for trying to hype up this game.
7:45: Will be interesting to see if Trent Brown slots in at LT. He’s rotated with McDermott while nursing several injuries.
7:31: New England’s receiver corps is in … ROUGH SHAPE.
7:25: Warmups underway in Pittsburgh:
6:51: No DeVante Parker tonight for New England. Only available wideouts: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Tyquan Thornton, Jalen Reagor, Malik Cunningham.
6:48: So … morale doesn’t seem all that great ahead of kick-off.
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