Pittsburgh Pummels Patriots 33-10

Posted by Jeff Sack under New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers

Sunday may have proved to be a wake-up call for the fans at Gillette Stadium watching the New England Patriots commit five turnovers in the midst of getting beaten by the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-10. The Patriots may very well make the post season, they still could possibly (unlikely though) win the AFC East. However the team does not have the game to game consistency to go far in the playoffs. Pittsburgh also showed that while New England can still dominate teams like the Miami Dolphins, at this point of the season they can not stand toe to toe with the elite teams of the league.

The vaunted aerial game that Matt Cassel displayed during the fourth quarter in the loss to AFC East Division leaders the New York Jets, and last Sunday’s trouncing of the Dolphins never came close to showing up in this game. Cassel looked like an over matched NFL backup quarterback completing just 19/39 for 169 yards 0 touchdowns, 2 interceptions. The Patriots did not score a single point in the entire second half of the game, as the Steelers defense seemed to anticipate whatever New England was planning.

The Patriots actually got on the board first as running back Sammy Morris ran the ball two yards across the goal line. The extra point was good an New England had a 7-0 lead with 12:01 left in the first quarter. Pittsburgh’s kicker Jeff Reed kicked a 20 yard field goal with 2:51 left in the first, Patriots would lead 7-3 at the end of the quarter. Stephen Gostkowski answered back with 6:48 to play in the second quarter, kicking a ball from 29 yards out through the uprights to make it 10-3 New England. The Patriots were done scoring for the day. Steelers QB Ben Rothlisberger connected with Santonio Holmes for a 19 yard touchdown pass, the extra point counted, and the game was tied 10-10 with 1:55 left in the quarter. The score would reamin tied as the two teams went to the locker room at the half.

New England returned to the field for the second half, but they left their offense in the locker room as the half was all Steelers all the time. Reed kicked his second field goal of the day, this time for 25 yards with 5:39 left in the third making it 13-10 Pittsburgh. Hines Ward was the recipient of a 11 yard touchdown pass and with the extra point, it was 20-10 Steelers with 5:04 left in the third. Reed would kick 2 more field goals, one for 20 yards late in the third, and a 45 yard effort in the fourth. Gary Russell would run one yard for a touchdown with 2:44 in the final quarter, the extra point would make the final tally 33-10.

Rothlisberger completed 17/33 for 179 yards 2 touchdowns on interception. Willie Parker had 16 carries as he rushed for 87 yards, Mewelde Moore carried the ball 12 times for 67 yards. The Patriots leading rusher was veteran Kevin Faulk with 6 carries for 73 yards. Piitsburgh now 9-3 will host Dallas next Sunday. New England falls to 7-5 will travel to the Great Northwest to take on the Seahawks.

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