Brandin Echols barely made a ripple in the Pittsburgh Steelers' first two games of the season. That changed in Week 3.

The cornerback had a pivotal interception on Sunday as the Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 21-14 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Echols' pick was one of five takeaways for the Steelers. None was more critical.

With 24 seconds left in the second quarter, Echols picked off Drake Maye in the end zone to preserve the Steelers' 14-7 lead. That proved critical; in what turned out to be a seven-point win that lifted the Steelers' record to 2-1.

Echols credited defensive tackle Cam Heyward for setting up the interception by tipping the pass.

"It was like a blur," Echols said. "Sometimes, I just black out in the middle of plays."

Echols also made the biggest tackle of the day for the Steelers after they went ahead 21-14 on Aaron Rodgers' 17-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with 2:16 remaining.

The Patriots drove to the Steelers' 28-yard line and faced fourth-and-1 with 1:07 left. Drake Maye threw a pass in the left flat to Demario Douglas.

Echols tackled Douglas for a 1-yard loss. The Steelers then ran the clock out on two kneel-downs by Rodgers.

The Steelers signed Echols as a free agent in the offseason after he spent the first four years of his career with the New York Jets.

"He's been real solid, but he's been real solid throughout this whole process for us, team development and so forth," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He made some big plays today, the interception, the fourth down tackle. He was engaged in the game. He is a good teammate, and I'm glad we got him."

Echols played just 33 defensive snaps in the first two games and had two assists. He played 63 snaps on Sunday.

"I thought he played with great energy and communication," Tomlin said. "For a guy that's new, his level of communication is unique in terms of adjustments and so forth. But he's a veteran. He's got a good passion for the game."