Pride, not draft position, is what’s driving the Patriots at this point
Thursday's victory over the Steelers wasn’t a necessary win for the Patriots, but the players who have endured a miserable season earned it and deserved it.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game …
This is said with a little bit of resignation, but mostly admiration. The Patriots – particularly their defense, and yes, their embattled genius of a coach – are too resilient and proud to permit the season to collapse around them in backward pursuit of the highest possible draft choice.
The Patriots’ 21-18 win Thursday night behind three Bailey Zappe first-half touchdown passes probably says more about the Steelers – who lost to the lowly Cardinals last week – than it does about the victors, who are now 3-10.
These Patriots are certain to end up with their worst final record in decades, and wins – even satisfying ones like Thursday’s – interfere with the more important cause: landing an early pick in the 2024 draft to repopulate this roster with talent.
Broader consequences aside, that victory sure was a good time, wasn’t it? Zappe played legitimately well, finishing 19 of 28 for 240 yards, with the three touchdowns and an interception. And the defense, led by safety Jabrill Peppers, tormented Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky for the sport of it.
Peppers baited Trubisky into an interception on the first play of the second quarter, returning it 32 yards, while the Patriots defense held the Steelers to 264 total yards and 3 of 14 on third down.
This wasn’t a necessary win for the Patriots, because winning is nowhere near a necessity right now. But for those guys who are out there on Sundays, and Mondays (when they’re not flexed out), and the occasional Thursday? They earned it and they deserved it.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review …
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Ezekiel Elliott, T.J. Watt, Bryce Baringer.
JuJu Smith-Schuster: Maybe he’s feeling healthier. Maybe it was the switch from Mac Jones to Zappe. Or maybe – probably – he was extra-motivated to take on the team for which he spent the first five seasons of his career.
Whatever the reason, Smith-Schuster came through with by far his best game as a Patriot. What does by far mean, precisely? This: Fifty-nine second into the game, Smith-Schuster hauled in a spectacular twisting catch for 37 yards, all the way to the Steelers’ 26-yard line. That 37-yard gain was more receiving yardage than he had in all but one game this season. (Against the Commanders in Week 9, he accounted for 51 receiving yards.).
Smith-Schuster also had a 17-yard catch on the Patriots’ second drive (Zappe stepped up with confidence not seen in a Patriots quarterback in a while and threw a strike), and made a 28-yard grab on a third down that immediately preceded Hunter Henry’s second touchdown catch in the second quarter.
Overall, Smith-Schuster – who had just four catches for 30 yards over the past three games – finished with four catches for 90 yards while delivering a reminder that excellent performances in Pittsburgh aren’t entirely new to him.
Ezekiel Elliott: At this stage of his accomplished career, Elliott is proof – and I say this admiringly — that a running back can be reliable and productive without being spectacular.
With Rhamondre Stevenson sidelined with an ankle injury, Elliott took on his biggest workload of his first season with the Patriots and came through in his savvy, tireless way. He ran 22 times for 68 yards, his longest run a 12.5-yard gain on third and 13 late in the fourth quarter. He caught seven passes on eight targets for 72 yards, including a 7-yard scoring reception to cap the first drive of the game … the first Patriots opening drive of the season to culminate with a touchdown. (So that’s what an impressive drive looks like. It had been awhile.)
His 150 total yards accounted for almost half of the Patriots’ 303 yards as a team, and no other Patriot other than Zappe had a carry. Maybe Elliott isn’t what he once was. But he’s been everything the Patriots could have reasonably hoped.
Hunter Henry: A reliable pass-catching tight end theoretically would be an asset to any quarterback with command of an offense and his emotions, but the rapport he developed with Mac Jones during their mutual first year in New England got disconnected this season.
Perhaps there’s a connection in progress with Zappe. Henry entered Thursday’s game with three touchdown receptions this season. He ended it with two more to his name, a nifty 8-yard catch at the back of the end zone to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead after Peppers’s pick early in the second. His second touchdown came in the same quarter, a spectacular 24-yard catch in which Zappe zipped the ball past an outstretched Steelers defender for what was perhaps the best throw by a Patriots quarterback all season, at least among those that were actually caught.
Grievance of the game
For all of the investment Belichick makes in the special teams, they really aren’t that special and haven’t been for a couple of years now.
Among Thursday’s transgressions: Brenden Schooler, who carries himself like he spent his formative years watching the 1993 college football movie “The Program” on an endless loop, was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty late in the first half, which pushed the Patriots back to their own 11. It was his fourth penalty of the season, and he probably ought to try some breathing exercises when he starts getting angry.
Bryce Baringer, who placed just three of his nine punts inside the 20, had his sixth punt deflected, giving the Steelers possession at the Patriots 26. (Ty Montgomery missed the block.)
The Patriots got away with their most egregious transgression. On fourth and 3, the Steelers lined up to punt when Jahlani Tavai bolted through the line of scrimmage. He reacted as if the penalty were on him … because it should have been. But the officials got it wrong, calling a false start on Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz.
Special teams? I think we all know these are mediocre teams at best, Bill.
Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted score: Steelers 13, Patriots 7
Final score: Patriots 21, Steelers 18.
Elandon Roberts was a nuisance against his former team, making six tackles, sacking Zappe for a 10-yard loss on third down late in the second quarter, and breaking up a forced pass intended for Smith-Schuster in the fourth quarter that ricocheted to Steelers linebacker Mykal Walker for an interception. Playing well against the Patriots – with whom he spent the first four seasons of his career – is nothing new for the eight-year veteran. He had 10 tackles against the Patriots in Week 16 last year while playing for the Dolphins … Steelers pass-rushing menace T.J. Watt was hurt on the first play from scrimmage when he took a knee to the head on an Elliott run. Watt, who entered the game with 13 sacks and three forced fumbles, made his presence felt with five tackles, but he never did get to Zappe. It was just the third time this season that he didn’t register at least a half-sack in a game … Count me among those who enjoy the chemistry that Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit have developed in the Amazon Prime broadcast booth. They were rational and understated in their discussion of Bill Belichick’s status after their season, and had a wry back-and-forth when Tom Brady’s name came up. “I didn’t realize he had left,” said Herbstreit. “I think it’s pretty obvious,” said Michaels.
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