After a shocking overtime win against AFC North rivals Cincinnati Bengals in overtime, the Steelers lose by three in their home opener against the Patriots. Mac Jones and the Patriots seemed to be the better team, passing the ball effectively and making defensive plays. Keep in mind that Mac Jones was dealing with a back injury he suffered last week.
Mac Jones v Mitchell Trubisky
Jones completed several passes to wideouts Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers, as they both combined for 205 yards on fifteen passes. Jones also completed an amazing touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor, despite decent coverage by Ahkello Witherspoon. On the opposite sideline, Mitch Trubisky once again failed to throw for over 200 yards passing for the second week in a row. Let’s also not forget about the booing and the chants for Kenny Pickett in the third quarter as well.
Quite the way to end the half.
📺: #NEvsPIT on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/5WIu9sUQnw
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 18, 2022
How the Steelers lost
Despite Trubisky’s short comings, running back Najee Harris struggled against the Patriots defense. He only had 49 yards on the ground on just 15 carries. He was targeted six times, but only caught five for 40 yards. Pittsburgh’s defense is known for creating turnovers and causing havoc on opposing offenses. With TJ Watt out, the Steelers couldn’t sack Mac Jones at all. On the flip side, Trubisky was sacked a total of three times. The Steelers offensive line wasn’t able to block nor defend in this game.
Turning point in the game
Gunner Olszewski’s muffed punt is what changed the game, as Damien Harris had an eight-yard run into the endzone. Afterwards, the Steelers responded with a touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth. The Steelers offense couldn’t come up with anything else as they punted during their last two possessions of the game.
Back to School(er).
📺: #NEvsPIT on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/SfVUChkN5p
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) September 18, 2022
Coming up
The Steelers face the Cleveland Browns in a Thursday night football showdown. Even though the Browns stunned the Steelers in the first round of the playoffs in January of 2021, the Steelers swept the season series with Cleveland.