The Road to Victory Equals Five for Steelers

With the Pittsburgh Steelers improving their season record to 2-1 on the road after defeating the New England Patriots 21-14, two statistics that equaled five was the difference in the game. The Patriots committed five turnovers to the Steelers and Pittsburgh’s defense sacked Drake Maye five times as he lost 18 yards in the process. 

New England’s Rhamondre Stevenson who lost the most fumbles by a running back in 2024 obviously learned nothing from that experience as he lost two more in this game. Antonio Gibson fumbled another as did Maye. Newcomer to the Steelers Brandin Echols added an interception. After a poor showing both offensively and defensively in the loss to Seattle in week two, the Steelers showed signs of improvement on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, the performance was far from excellent for the Steelers, but it was much better than in the first two games. T.J. Watt and crew gave up 30 plus points to both the Jets and Seahawks but due in part to the turnovers, limited New England to just 14 points in this one. As it has been in the past, Pittsburgh’s defense kept the Steelers within distance of pulling out a victory as the offense which looked good in the season opener, has struggled since. 

As for the Pittsburgh offense, Aaron Rodgers is still looking for that big yardage game, but he continues to show signs why he was chosen over Mason Rudolph. Rodgers can make plays when needed and leading the team downfield for a go ahead and eventual winning touchdown drive was outstanding. Thus, if the defense can keep Pittsburgh close on the scoreboard that bodes well for Rodgers bringing the team back from a deficit. However, I think Rodgers is still capable of better performances. 

Through the first two games I was critical of the play from another free agent addition Kenneth Gainwell but in New England he looked like a solid running back capable of producing. With just four rushes, he ran one for 13 and the other three carries were only for three yards. But Gainwell also caught a pass for a first down and 10 yards and one of his rushes was for a touchdown. Gainwell also replaced rookie Kaleb Johnson on kickoff returns and on his only opportunity, Gainwell brought it back for a 27 yard return. 

Despite throwing for only 139 yards, Aaron Rodgers’ rating was 96.1 which is not great but far from being poor. He missed on seven passes in 23 attempts but also tossed two touchdown passes. There was one interception but more importantly and credit to the offensive line, he did not get sacked once. While Jaylen Warren rushed for only 47 yards and had just a 2.6 per carry average, he ran hard. He did break on run for 11 yards and out of the backfield had the most catches on the day of any other player with five. 

Warren averaged 6.8 yards per reception but in looking at the issues currently on offense, it’s curious why Aaron Rodgers is not throwing deep more often. He has the arm to do it, so someone should question Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith why he is not calling deeper routes for his receiver. DK Metcalf was acquired in the offseason and was supposed to be our number one receiving threat and a stud wideout. He has yet to have a big game. Additionally, where are the tight end targets? Darnell Washington was targeted in the end zone but was interfered with and that was his entire game. He had zero receptions in this game. 

Seeing Pat Freiermuth with only one reception for six yards and targeted only three times is not what Arthur Smith had pledged prior to the season starting. Jonnu Smith had three receptions on three targets for 23 yards, but Freiermuth has potential to be one of the best tight ends in the league so why is he not being targeted more? It’s very curious. The offense remains a work in progress and now in week four they will be in Ireland to face a Minnesota Vikings team that just blew the doors off of the Cincinnati Bengals. 

As for this defense, it was suspect the first two weeks getting gashed in the air and on the ground. If not for the turnovers, Pittsburgh loses this game. But handing the ball over to an opponent is part of the game and if a team makes that mistake multiple times they often will lose. That was New England’s downfall. Drake Maye had a pretty good game despite the loss, and he was able to finish with 268 yards and a strong quarterback rating. But the Steelers defense got to him five times and T.J. Watt finally got his first sack of the season. He then got a second. Watt added five tackles and two solo tackles. Contributions came in defensively from multiple players. Patrick Queen has now settled in on defense after a full season with the Steelers and led all defensive players with 10 tackles with six being solo. He had one tackle for a loss and defended two passes.

Peyton Wilson is turning into a star player, and Cole Holcomb has returned fully from injury and is a serious threat on defense. The new faces on the team are starting to shine as Brandin Echols picked off a Drake Maye pass and added six tackles. Cameron Heyward picked up where he left off last season and is playing strong. Stuffing the run has been the top priority and while the Patriots rushed for 119 yards, their running game did not play a large part in the victory by Pittsburgh. 

Despite the fact that Drake Maye used nine different receivers with Hunter Henry being the leading receiver with 90 yards and eight receptions, the secondary did step up better than they have in the first two weeks. Keeping in mind Joey Porter Jr. did not play, Jalen Ramsey was rather quiet in making plays but another free agent signing in Darius Slay, he did play well. Safety Jabril Peppers had a big game. Jack Sawyer quietly is becoming the player Mike Tomlin believed him to be when he was drafted this year.

One final defensive note…the Steelers’ first round draft pick from this year, Derrick Harmon made his pro debut and showed signs of why he was chosen over Shadeur Sanders when he made one sack, had two tackles stuffing one rushing attempt, and made one tackle for a loss. Big things are coming from the big man I believe. Hats off to Corliss Waitman proving he was the right choice as punter with four punts in New England for an average of 42.3 per kick with a long of 55.



Until we get the result of Monday Night Football with Detroit and Baltimore, regardless of that outcome, the Steelers will either be in sole possession of first place in the AFC North or sharing it with the Ravens. Steelers Nation should expect a massive Black and Gold showing in Ireland next Sunday given the Roony family Irish ancestry. Plans are already underway from Steelers fans to travel there, and promotions are also being prepared before the game and day of game in the park lots. For those unaware the game will be played at 9:30 Eastern Time in this country. The Vikings will be Pittsburgh’s toughest game to date.