PITTSBURGH — Still searching for an identity, the Patriots followed the oldest formula in football against one of the NFL’s oldest franchises Sunday.
Run the ball, and play great defense. And how fitting it happened in Pittsburgh.
The Pats pounded out a 17-10 road victory over the Steelers by running the clock out before a sold-out crowd at Acrisure Stadium. Starting at the 2-minute warning, Damien Harris took three straight hand-offs in Pittsburgh territory before Mac Jones knelt down three times and rose up with his first win. Harris and Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson combined for 118 rushing yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Pats held Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky to 21-of-33 for 168 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Jones hardly did much better, completing 60% of his throws for 252 yards, a touchdown and one interception. He relied heavily on Jakobi Meyers (nine catches, 95 yards) and Nelson Agholor, who posted his first 100-yard game as a Patriot and caught Jones’ only touchdown.
After forcing a game-opening three-and-out, the Patriots cruised on their opening drive thanks to Meyers. He converted two third downs and caught three passes, carrying the Pats as far as Pittsburgh’s 15-yard line. There, a delay of game penalty backed them up and indirectly led to a 28-yard Nick Folk field goal.
Snatching a tipped Trubisky pass over the middle, Jalen Mills killed the Steelers’ next drive with his first interception as a Patriot. Inside linebacker Mack Wilson got his right hand on the ball working in short zone near his 30-yard line late in the first quarter. Wilson replaced Raekwon McMillan in the starting lineup, after McMillan suffered a thumb injury in Friday’s practice.
Unfortunately for Wilson, his efforts were erased by an ensuing Mac Jones pick less than a minute later that found Steelers safety and old college teammate Minkah Fitzpatrick deep down the right seam. Jones threw into double coverage looking for DeVante Parker, whom he also targeted on his Week 1 interception at Miami.
Zapping more than seven minutes off the clock, Pittsburgh trudged downfield over a 16-play drive that generated a game-tying field goal. Steelers kicker Chris Boswell hit from 36 yards, after backup Pats linebacker Jahlani Tavai dropped Trubisky on an all-out blitz. Defense ruled the next two series, with each team forcing a punt.
Back with the ball at 3:08 remaining in the half, the Patriots dinked and dunked their way to midfield with a short completion to Agholor, quarterback sneak, Jones scramble, 6-yard pass to Kendrick Bourne and 7-yarder to Meyers. Facing third-and-3 at under a minute left, Jones waited out a timid Steeler rush and uncorked a high-arching ball down the right sideline for Agholor.
Normally a straight-ahead downfield threat, Agholor flexed his acrobatic muscles by plucking the ball over Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, whom he quickly ditched en route to a 44-yard touchdown. Despite Pittsburgh’s best efforts to strike within 22 seconds, the Pats carried a 10-3 lead into the locker room.
Again, the Patriots coasted downfield to start the half, but a missed 52-yard field goal left them emptyhanded. The Steelers responded by setting up Boswell for a 52-yarder of his own, a successful try that preceded another Patriots punt. But thanks to an old friend, New England was gifted new life.
Steelers returner Gunner Olszewski, a former Patriot, muffed a fair catch in front of undrafted rookie Brenden Schooler, and Schooler pounced on it at the Pittsburgh 20 for a critical recovery. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Steelers then sprung the Pats 10 yards forward. Three plays later, Patriots running back Damien Harris muscled his way to a 2-yard touchdown.
While the Steelers answered immediately with a 9-play, 75-yard drive capped by Pat Freiermuth’s 8-yard touchdown drive and a successful 2-point try, there was
Here were the best and worst Patriot performances from Sunday:
Best
WR Nelson Agholor — His best day as a Patriot. Agholor posted his first 100-yard game, one highlighted by his 44-yard touchdown.
WR Jakobi Meyers — Meyers’ nine catches for 95 yards were the lifeblood of the Patriots offense until they ran the clock out.
Run-blocking — The Patriots averaged 4.9 yards per hand-off and finished the Steelers off with back-to-back runs off the left side.
Worst
QB Mac Jones — Jones threw a back interception for the second straight week, nearly tossed another and was unusually inaccurate.
