After an embarrassing loss to the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered an even worse one on Thursday Night. They lost 21-18 to the New England Patriots, who also came into the game at 2-10.
The Steelers won the toss and deferred, so the Patriots offense started with the ball. New England’s offense had some success on its opening drive, as RB Ezekiel Elliott caught a screen pass for 12 yards on the second play of the game, and on the third, QB Bailey Zappe went deep to WR JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 37-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 26. On 3rd and 9 from the Pittsburgh 25, Zappe scrambled for 12 yards and a first down, and two plays later Zappe hit Elliott on a swing pass and the Patriots took an early 7-0 lead with 11:12 left in the first quarter.
RB Godwin Igwebuike took the ensuing kickoff to the Pittsburgh 31, and QB Mitch Trubisky and the offense took the field. On first down, Trubisky scrambled for 15 yards and a first down. A defensive holding on CB J.C. Jackson negated what otherwise would’ve been an interception on third down later in the drive. It gave the Steelers a new set of downs at the New England 39, but they couldn’t advance beyond the New England 38. K Chris Boswell came out and nailed a 56-yard field goal, cutting the New England lead at 7-3 with 6:39 left in the first quarter.
The Patriots went three-and-out on their next drive after a Hunter Henry penalty wiped out a third-down conversion. WR Calvin Austin III returned the Bryce Baringer punt to the Pittsburgh 21. The Steelers followed up with a three-and-out of their own.
On the Patriots’ next drive, they had gains of 11 and 17 yards to start the drive before it stalled. Pittsburgh started its third drive at its own 15. On 2nd and 6, RB Jaylen Warren caught a screen for eight yards and a first down, but on 3rd and 10 from the Pittsburgh 27, Trubisky threw a pick to S Jabrill Peppers and the Patriots took over at the Pittsburgh 11 following a 32-yard return by Peppers.
On the second play of New England’s drive, Zappe hit TE Hunter Henry for an eight-yard touchdown, and the Patriots took a 14-3 lead with 14:14 left in the first half. The Steelers followed up with a three-and-out, and New England took over at its own 28. They went three-and-out, and Baringer’s third punt of the night went out the back of the end zone for a touchback.
Pittsburgh again went three-and-out and the Pats took over, leading 14-3, at the New England 41. On 3rd and 4, Smith-Schuster had another big gain, this time for 28 yards, down to the Pittsburgh 24. On the next play, Zappe hit Henry for another touchdown, this time from 24 yards out, and the Patriots took a 21-3 lead with 7:38 left in the half.
The Steelers’ offense needed a spark, and on first down Trubisky hit Warren on a screen for a gain of 12, and then a reverse to Austin went for another 12 yards. On 3rd and 1 two plays later, Trubisky picked up a first down on a QB sneak at the NE 42, and a defensive pass interference call against S Kyle Dugger gave Pittsburgh another first down. On the next play, Trubisky hit WR Diontae Johnson for a 25-yard touchdown, cutting the New England lead to 21-10 after Boswell’s extra point with 2:50 left in the first half.
New England’s next drive started at its own 11-yard line following a penalty on the kickoff. They quickly picked up a first down on a 17-yard reception to RB Ty Montgomery II on second down, and a few plays later they converted on 3rd and 7 when Zappe hit Henry for a gain of eight. New England didn’t score and punted the ball back to the Steelers with under 30 seconds left in the half. Austin muffed the punt but quickly recovered, and the Steelers kneeled to end out the half.
Pittsburgh received the second-half kickoff, but a poor return set Pittsburgh up at its own 17. On 3rd and 4, a completion over the middle to TE Pat Freiermuth for seven yards was good for a first down. But then the team tried a reverse, and Warren lost seven yards. On 2nd and 17, Warren gained seven yards to get it back to 3rd and 10, and then TE Connor Heyward made a play for a first down and a 10-yard reception. The Steelers picked up another first down on a screen pass to Warren a few plays later, but then the team faced a 3rd and 8. Trubisky got sacked on third down, and the Steelers were forced to punt.
Percy Harvin III’s punt went into the end zone for a touchback, so the Patriots took over at their own 20. They got a first down on their first play of the drive, but the drive stalled, and they punted. The Steelers took over at their own 25 with 5:12 left in the third quarter. The Steelers once again went three-and-out, and the Patriots took over at their own 31 following Harvin’s punt.
After picking up a first down, Zappe threw his first interception of the game as LB Mykal Walker caught a tipped pass. Walker returned it to the New England 16, so the Steelers had great field position to work with. After a Trubisky scramble was short of the sticks on third down, the Steelers went for it on 4th and 2, and they were short of the first down on a pass to Warren. The Patriots held on to their 21-10 lead and retained possession at their own 7-yard line. They went three-and-out, and with 13:31 left, the Patriots punted.
The punt was blocked by S Miles Killebrew, and the Steelers again got good field position, taking over at the New England 26. A defensive pass interference in the end zone after a 12-yard gain by TE Darnell Washington gave the Steelers the ball at the New England 1, and the Steelers ran a trick play with a pass thrown by TE Connor Heyward, but it was deflected and incomplete. A QB sneak by Trubisky for a touchdown on the next play made it a 21-16 game with 11:44 left to play. The Steelers went for two, and they got it on a pass from Trubisky to Freiermuth, cutting the New England lead to 21-18 with 11:44 left.
The Patriots picked up one first down on their ensuing drive but then punted. With 8:24 to go, the Steelers took over down 21-18. Baringer’s punt was a touchback, so the Steelers took over at their own 20. The Steelers went for it on 4th and inches and Trubisky converted on the QB sneak to the Pittsburgh 31.
After a seven-yard completion to WR George Pickens on first down, a screen to Pickens on second down went nowhere and the Steelers faced a 3rd and 3. Trubisky threw it away on 3rd and 3, and the Steelers decided to punt. A questionable false start against LS Christian Kuntz that looked like a defender jumping into the neutral zone then set Pittsburgh back, and the Steelers’ punt was fair caught at the New England 14 with 4:58 left. New England went three-and-out though, and the Steelers got the ball back with 2:44 left at their own 27.
Trubisky’s pass to Freiermuth was incomplete on first down, and on second down he dumped it off to Harris for a 14-yard gain to the Pittsburgh 41. On 3rd and 2 from the Pittsburgh 49, Trubisky fired incomplete, and the Steelers would essentially had one final chance to keep their hopes alive. Trubisky threw it deep to Johnson and the pass was incomplete, and the Patriots took over.
On 2nd and 13, Elliott ran for 13 yards but was just short of the first down. On 3rd and inches, the Pats ran the tush push but Zappe was short, and the Steelers got one last-gasp chance as the Patriots punted with 22 seconds left. The punt had good hang time, and with 15 seconds left, the Steelers took over at their own 13.
With seven seconds left, a reception to Johnson moved the ball to their own 36, and on the final play of the game the Steelers tried the hook and ladder but failed, losing 21-18 to the Patriots.
The Steelers fall to 7-6, while New England improves to 3-10.
