Aaron Rodgers seemingly never had a chance against this Patritos pass rush.
Under overcast skies, the New England Patriots took to the field at Gillette Stadium for their Week 2 home opener against the 1-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. It wasn't a must-win but a can't-lose scenario for the Patriots. The result? A 20-3 win with a defensive clinic put on by the Patriots.
History felt like it was repeating itself when running back Rhamondre Stevenson fumbled the ball on the game's first drive after catching a pass that Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig punched out of his hands.
The Patriots' defense held its own, got the ball back, and shifted its attention to RB2 TreVeyon Henderson, who made his season debut after missing the tail end of the preseason and Week 1 with an ankle injury.
Henderson's injury felt like a thing of the past once he bolted downfield on a handoff from Drake Maye for a 39-yard touchdown run.
On defense, the Patriots attacked the Steelers' deep threat; halfway through the second quarter, Christian Ellis sacked Aaron Rodgers, forcing a fumble that went the opposite way the Steelers were moving (36 yards, to be exact). Steelers offensive lineman Troy Fautanu would recover.
At the half, through a lot of ups and downs by both teams, the Patriots led 10-3, and that came with casualties.
Rookie tight end Eli Raridon left the game with an apparent thigh injury; guard Mike Onwenu left the game and didn't return after Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt rolled on it. Dre'Mont Jones also remained questionable after leaving the game following a pileup after a fumble.
In the second half, Patriots kicker Andy Borregales missed a field goal on a drive that ended with the Steelers holding strong against a Patriots push. On the next Patriots drive, Maye would find Romeo Doubs on a ridiculous 63-yard bomb to get the crowd back into it.
The drive stalled, but Borregales redeemed himself with a 45-yard field goal that curved through the uprights, making it 13-3 New England.
Then the Patriots defense took over. Christian Barmore knocked the ball out of Aaron Rodgers' hands via a sack. From there, edge rusher Elijah Ponder would scoop up the ball and run it in for 6, upping the score to 20-3 Patriots.
As the fourth quarter wound down, the Patriots began making the moves needed to put the game away. Rookie edge rusher Gabe Jacas intercepted Rodgers during a late-game Steelers surge with a little over five minutes to go.
Injuries mounted up for the Patriots this afternoon in Foxborough. Along with the names mentioned above, Raridon never returned after a thrilling 30-yard catch, but pass interference was called against him on the play. Safety Craig Woodson also left with a shoulder injury, thrusting Jaylen Reed into the mix.
Dell Petus would also suffer an ankle injury in the first half on a special teams play. The safety was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Drake Maye didn't play perfectly but had pockets of moving the ball well. Bouncing back from the Week 1 loss, Maye went 14 of 22 for 208 yards, an interception, and three sacks taken. Maye now has one touchdown and four INT's in two games. This isn’t what you want to see out of an MVP runner-up last season.
The injuries and some offensive struggles are issues that will need to be addressed ahead of Week 3. As for the defense, sheesh, whatever they're doing right now, keep it up.
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