It was the kind of performance everyone expected from the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

The Steelers forced five turnovers and had five sacks on Sunday in a 21-14 victory over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

The Steelers came into the season saying they had the most talented defense in the NFL. However, they gave up 63 points in the first two games as they edged the New York Jets 34-32 and lost to the Seattle Seahawks 31-17.

The defense wasn't dominant Sunday as Patriots quarterback Drake Maye passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns to tight end Hunter Harvey. However, the Steelers forced four fumbles, including two by running back Rhamondre Stevenson, and had one interception.

Nick Herbig, Cole Holcomb, Cameron Heyward, and T.J. Watt forced the fumbles, and Brandin Echols had the pick. Watt also recorded his first two sacks of the season, and Heyward, Holcomb, and rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon – making his NFL debut – each had one.

"I thought we were really tight in the red zone and things of that nature," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "I thought we could have been better on possession downs. Thankfully, we took the ball away from them to alleviate some of that lack of possession down success."

The most significant turnover came with 24 seconds left in the second quarter when Echols picked off Maye in the end zone to preserve the Steelers' 14-7 lead. That proved pivotal in what turned out to be a seven-point win that lifted the Steelers' record to 2-1.

The Steelers had another red-zone takeaway on the Patriots' first possession of the second half as Stevenson lost a fumble at the 2-yard line. Heyward forced the fumble and recovered it two plays after Patriots linebacker Robert Spillane had a 37-yard interception return.

"That's why we spend as much time practicing down in that space as we do as a collective," Tomlin said. "We've got to be great on defense in an effort to win the points. We've got to be great on offense. When you take the ball away, you get all seven points. Usually you're fighting for four, but man, those takeaways, particularly down there, were big."