As we’ve been doing for many years now, we break down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ opponent each week, telling you what to expect from a scheme and individual player standpoint. Like last year, Josh Carney and I will cover the opposing team’s offense. I will focus on the scheme, Josh on the players.
Today, our scouting report on the New England Patriots ahead of Week 3.
Alex’s Scheme Report
Patriots Run Game
It hasn’t been great but there’s a three-headed attack with starter Rhamondre Stevenson and rotational backs Antonio Gibson and rookie TreVeyon Henderson. As a team, the Patriots are rushing for 91 yards per game, 23rd in the league. Their 3.9 YPC is bottom-third in the NFL while the only player with a rushing touchdown is QB Drake Maye. Finally, the offense has four runs of 10-plus yards, tied for 21st in the NFL.
Stevenson has been the lead back with 18 carries. Henderson has eight and Gibson six. On first down, the splits are closer. Stevenson has eight while the other two have five apiece.
WR DeMario Douglas has one carry for 4 yards, a 1st and 10 run to begin a drive on the Patriots’ 25 in the season opener.
Schematically, there’s variety. The Patriots like using lead blockers. Not always true fullbacks but TE Hunter Henry and WR Mack Hollins do plenty of the dirty work. Alert for wider splits that could signal upfield split-zone action or insert blocks by Hollins (No. 13), who acts like a fullback as much as he does receiver.
There is a designated fullback in No. 37 Jack Westover, who has logged eight offensive snaps through two games. The team likes using split backs and Pony backfields with two runners on the field.
Alert gap/power runs to the field side on 1st and 10. New England likes pulling its big right guard No. 71 Mike Onwenu right to left. He’s a handful.
On 3rd-and-short, the Patriots can and will use a half-Tush Push with the tight end motioning in and pushing ahead. They also added a fun wrinkle, faking the Tush Push and then handing the ball off to Henderson on the perimeter. A sort of “hide the ball” play teams have run from a fake kneel before though not with the same exact misdirection. But it’s a quick hitter with a fast back the Steelers’ defense must be alert for. The Patriots also mix in a read/speed option, including opening a two-minute drill with a read option that Maye kept and ran with.
Some other offensive stats. Through two games, New England is scoring 23.0 PPG. That’s 14th in the NFL. Seven points came off a kick return score in Week 2. The Patriots are a similar 13th in yards per game at 334.5. Situationally, the team is about average on third down (42.3 percent, 14th) and red zone (57.1 percent, 16th).
Patriots Pass Game
Led by QB Drake Maye, who has taken every snap for the offense this season. He’s completed 71-percent of his passes with three touchdowns and one interception. Maye’s been sacked seven times, the same as Aaron Rodgers. The Patriots are ninth at 243.5 passing yards per game. Maye’s 7.1 YPA is tied for 12th while the team’s completion rate is sixth.
Free agent signing WR Stefon Diggs is the No. 1 target. Still working his way full from last year’s injury, he’s logged just 51 and 56-percent of the snap count in his two games. That number should continue rising throughout the season. Diggs is averaging just 8.9 YPC. The backs have been involved. Henderson has eight receptions (mostly on RB screens in “and long” situations) while Stevenson has seven. Kayshon Boutte has seven receptions, six coming in the opener. Tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper have a combined nine receptions. Maye also has a 2-yard reception off a batted pass he caught to himself.
As a team, the Patriots have five receptions of 20-plus yards. That’s tied-18th in the NFL.
The Patriots like to go 2×2 early in downs and then use more 3×1 on third down with the X-receiver being Hunter Henry. Trying to iso him backside if Maye likes the matchup. Examples of those looks.
On first-down, expect play-action and shot plays. Max or seven-man protection to give Maye time to look downfield.
On early downs, alert an RPO smoke screen anytime there’s a two-man stack.
One last alert. Patriots like using return/orbit motion on third down and/or near the goal line. Motioning the back out only to bring him back in. This helps create a man/zone clue, even if it’s not a 100-percent thing. Pittsburgh can’t be predictable here and must be able to vary coverages to confuse Maye and company. Examples
Josh’s Individual Report
It’s Patriots week, Steelers fans!
The Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Foxboro to take on the New England Patriots, aiming to find a way to win in Gillette Stadium for the first time since 2008.
They’ll have to find a way to get through a team led by a key player from that 2008 game in first-year Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel.
Coming off of an ugly loss to the Seahawks in their home opener, the Steelers desperately need a bounce-back performance. They’ll have to find it against a defense that is getting after the passer in a major way, while the Patriots’ offense is really starting to roll after a big showing in Miami.
New England is led by second-year quarterback Drake Maye, who is starting to show consistent flashes of being the franchise quarterback the Patriots envisioned coming out of North Carolina. He has a big, strong arm, can move around in the pocket and is a dangerous running threat, too.
He’s drawn some comparisons over the years to Ben Roethlisberger, and now he’ll get a crack against Roethlisberger’s former team.
Maye is completing more than 70 percent of his passes on the season, including a career-high 82.6% last week against the Dolphins. He also has 42 rushing yards and a touchdown and had a career-high 10 rushing attempts last week for 31 yards and a score.
He’s a dangerous weapon.
Things run through the three-headed backfield in New England, though.
Rhamondre Stevenson remains a hammer between the tackles, one who can wear down defenses. He has the ability to hit the home run with quick burst, but he’s also a patient runner with decent vision who can pick through traffic and find seams.
He flashed great hands last week, too, hauling in a finger-tip catch on a great throw from Maye under pressure to pick up 55 yards.
Prized rookie TreVeyon Henderson remains the talk of the backfield though. He hasn’t gotten consistent work as a runner, but the Patriots are leaning on him as a receiver. He’s made some plays out of the backfield in the last two weeks and could be a handful for the Steelers in Week 3.
Antonio Gibson will get some work offensively, too, but he’s at his best on special teams. More on him later.
At receiver, Kayshon Boutte has emerged as Maye’s top target. Through two games he has seven receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown. He had six catches in the season opener but was held to just one last week.
However, that one catch went for a touchdown and was an impressive play through contact.
A shifty route runner with good size and strength, he’ll find himself going up against some physical Steelers corners this week.
Stefon Diggs was the big headliner the Patriots added this offseason. He’s still working his way back from the torn ACL he sustained last season in Houston, but he’s been heavily targeted in New England’s offense.
Through two games, Diggs has a team-high 12 targets and 10 receptions for 89 yards. There’s not much there in terms of working down the field, but Maye trusts him and looks his way often.
DeMario Douglas is a speedy, shifty receiver in the slot, and Maye has a good rapport with him, but he hasn’t made many plays this season and is still adjusting to OC Josh McDaniels’ scheme. He does have a touchdown on the season and could be a significant factor in the middle of the field against the Steelers.
Rookie Kyle Williams and veteran Mack Hollins round out the wide receiver room. Hollins hauled in a touchdown pass last week and can provide some juice vertically. He’s a good blocker, too. Williams was one of the top route runners in the 2025 NFL Draft but has been slow to adjust to the NFL game.
Tight end Hunter Henry is a major weapon with Maye under center. He has dependable hands and is a sound route runner, one who ends up where he’s supposed to be consistently.
The Patriots will try and work him down the field, too, particularly along the sideline.
Veteran Austin Hooper adds good depth and experience for the Patriots at the position. He has hauled in all four targets for 48 yards on the season and is reliable when called upon.
New England will utilize its running backs in a major way in the passing game too. Combined, Henderson and Stevenson have 15 catches on 16 targets for 154 yards. Keep an eye on that Sunday.
Up front, New England has invested in the trenches and is starting to get some decent play up front.
Here’s how I expect the Patriots to line up left to right on Sunday:
LT — Will Campbell (rookie)
LG — Jared Wilson (rookie)
C — Garrett Bradbury
RG — Mike Onwenu
RT — Morgan Moses
Both Wilson and Moses showed up on the injury report early in the week, but expectations are that both will play Sunday. This group is headlined by Campbell, the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. He is viewed as the line’s long-term cornerstone term in front of Maye.
Wilson was a third-round pick and provides athleticism and toughness on the interior.
I am very high on Mike Onwenu. He’s quietly become one of the better guards in football. He bounced between right guard and right tackle last season but has settled in at right guard this year and might be the Patriots’ best offensive lineman.
On special teams, the Patriots are counting on rookie sixth-round kicker Andre Borregales out of Miami (FL). He was very good in college, but so far in the NFL he’s had some struggles. He’s 4-for-5 on field goals with his only miss coming from 40 yards in the rain against the Raiders in Week 1.
But he’s missed two extra points, which is concerning.
Bryce Baringer is averaging 47.5 yards on eight punts this season, downing two inside the 20-yard line. He has a 71-yard punt on the season, too. He has a big leg, but he can outkick his coverage. That could give Steelers returner Calvin Austin III some opportunities on Sunday.
In the return game, Gibson is the reigning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, thanks to his 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Miami.
He has great speed and with his vision as a running back he’s able to pick his way through traffic, find green grass and hit the turbo button.
Marcus Jones handles punt-return duties. He has one career punt return for a touchdown, which came in 2022 as a rookie when he was named first-team All-Pro on special teams.
