It’s weird. It’s sad. It’s…this team, man.
– As far as I can tell, no Steelers TE had attempted a pass before Connor Heyward did Thursday night. Definitely not one since the 1970 merger. Heyward’s pass fell incomplete, a wrinkle they worked on in training camp that didn’t have the success they were looking for against the New England Patriots.
– RB Jaylen Warren finished the game with seven carries for 11 yards. It’s the fewest yards by a Steelers RB with at least that many attempts since Benny Snell Jr. posted an eight-carry, five-yard performance against Washington in 2020.
Warren came into the game averaging a league-high 5.9 yards per carry. He averaged just 1.6 against the Patriots’ No. 1-ranked run defense.
– WR George Pickens caught five passes for 19 yards. It’s only the 12th time in team history a player has had such a line, at least five grabs and 20 or fewer yards. The last to do it was RB Jaylen Warren in Week One against the San Francisco 49ers, a five-catch, 12-yard day.
The last Steelers WR to do it? No one. Pickens is the first, according to PFR/Stathead. The others were either running backs with one tight end, Heath Miller in 2009 (five catches, 20 yards).
– In fairness, Patriots QB Bailey Zappe hasn’t played a lot of NFL football. But the last time he threw three touchdowns in a game was Dec. 18, 2021, his final collegiate game at Western Kentucky, Bailey tossing six touchdowns to beat Appalachian State, 59-38.
– A fourth-round pick, Zappe becomes the first drafted quarterback taken on Day Three (Rounds Four through Seven) to throw three touchdowns against Pittsburgh since…Patriots QB Tom Brady did in 2019.
It should be noted Colts undrafted QB Brian Hoyer (who once was a Patriot) had a three-touchdown game a few weeks after Brady in that ’19 season.
– Chris Boswell’s 56-yard field goal was the second-longest hit at Heinz Field/Acrisure Stadium, only trailing the 59-yarder he hit against the New York Jets last year.
– Mitch Trubisky has thrown eight interceptions across 264 pass attempts as a Steeler. It’s an interception rate of 3.0 percent. By comparison, Kenny Pickett has a career 1.8 interception percentage.
Compare that rate to quarterbacks this season and the only quarterbacks who have an equal or worse rate are Josh Allen, Aidan O’Connell, Mac Jones, and Jimmy Garoppolo.
– Ex-Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster finished the game with 90 yards receiving. That’s a season-high for him.
– RB Ezekiel Elliott finished with 72 yards receiving. That’s the most he’s had in a game since Dec. 9, 2018, nearly five years ago.
– TE Hunter Henry scored twice against the Steelers. He is the last tight end to score twice against Pittsburgh since…yup, Hunter Henry in 2019 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Chargers. The Steelers at least won that game.
– The Patriots hadn’t scored a touchdown on an opening drive all season. Until Thursday.
– In their previous three games combined, the Pats scored 13 points. They had 21 against Pittsburgh, all by halftime.
– Pittsburgh on possession downs, third and fourth down, the last two games? Just 8-of-29, 27.6 percent. Terrible.
– Pittsburgh’s red zone offense over the last four games? Again, miserable, just 3-of-10, or 30 percent.
