On a day in which they forced five turnovers and dragged the New England Patriots into the mud to win an old-school rock fight that they’ve become so accustomed to under head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers found a way to win and get to 2-1 on the season.
Again, and with emphasis, they found a way to win the game. That’s the most important thing.
And yet their performance Sunday has many very concerned. That includes ESPN’s Damien Woody, who said it didn’t “move the needle.”
“You got five turnovers, and you barely won the game,” Woody said Monday morning on Unsportsmanlike, according to audio via ESPN Radio. “Like to me, that’s an indictment on the Steelers. As bad as the five turnovers by Mike Vrabel’s team [were], I came away from the game thinking this Pittsburgh team is not good at all.”
Things started out very well for the Steelers at Gillette Stadium. Veteran linebacker Cole Holcomb, inserted into the starting lineup for Payton Wilson, forced Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson to fumble, a sign of things to come. That led to a quick Steelers touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
The Steeler then raced out to a 14-0 lead after quarterback Aaron Rodgers found wide receiver DK Metcalf for a 12-yard touchdown, surpassing Brett Favre to stand alone in fourth-place all-time in passing touchdowns with the 509th of his career.
Things seemed to be going very well for Pittsburgh.
And then, it all came to a halt.
That touchdown from Rodgers to Metcalf came at the 13:49 mark of the second quarter. After that, Pittsburgh didn’t score again until there was 2:16 left in the game when Rodgers lofted a ball to Calvin Austin III for the game-winning 17-yard touchdown.Â
In between those scores, the Steelers forced four more turnovers, including two in the red zone. Cornerback Brandin Echols hauled in a tipped pass from Cameron Heyward in the end zone to keep points off the board at the end of the first half and Heyward punched the ball out of Stevenson’s hands near the goal line for a Payton Wilson recovery.
Despite the takeaways that came in bunches, the Steelers didn’t do anything with them. In the process, they allowed the Patriots to hang around.
Ultimately, the Steelers found a way to win. They have a knack for doing that in those types of games Sunday under Tomlin. It’s not pretty, it creates plenty of frustration, and raises a great deal of concerns for those on the outside. But they won the game and that’s all that matters right now, especially in September football and with the amount of injuries they’re dealing with.
It might not move the needle for Woody, but the Steelers are 2-1, handled business and now are embarking a stretch of games that are winnable.
