Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) – New England Patriots (3-10): 18-21
The Patriots offense is alive! In any case, it was for almost half a time. And that was enough for New England to win. After a big start to the match from Bailey Zappe (19/28, 240 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) and his comrades, the Patriots no longer scored after the break. No problem, the defense held the result.
The Steelers struggled on offense with an ineffective Mitch Trubisky (22/35, 190 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) and a particularly absent ground game.
The Patriots are off to a strong start!
A 75-yard offensive and a touchdown from Ezekiel Elliott (22 races, 68 yards – 7 rec, 72 yards, 1 TD) to start the game?! We think we're dreaming, but New England is off to a good start. On the road, Bailey Zappe even found JuJu Smith-Schuster (4 rec, 90 yards) for a 37-yard reception, the first for the Patriots to exceed 30 yards this year!
And if things seem to quickly calm down with two punts, the march forward resumes thanks to an opposing boost. On the first action of the second quarter, Trubisky was intercepted by Jabrill Peppers. The Patriots recover the leather just 11 yards from the end zone.
Hunter Henry (3 rec, 40 yards, 2 TDs) comes out of his box to catch the 14-3 touchdown two actions later. And it even makes it 21-3 when Henry scores twice a few minutes later. This time, Zappe threw for 28 yards to Smith-Schuster, then 24 to Henry in the end zone. Of life !
But also the end of the festival. Already.
WOW! 😱 Zappe to Henry AGAIN for another @Patriots T.D.#NEvsPIT on Prime Video
Also available on #NFLPlus https://t.co/0GJemAElFj pic.twitter.com/8kv5FZRGjb— NFL (@NFL) December 8, 2023
The Steelers too short and undisciplined
Already beaten by the Cardinals a few days ago, Mike Tomlin's men are finally getting their heads above water. Trubisky finds Diontae Johnson (3 rec, 57 yards, 1 TD) for a touchdown which puts them back in the match just before the break (10-21).
But when we returned from the locker room, there was no momentum. Between clumsily burned timeouts and penalties, Pittsburgh is rowing. At the start of the final quarter, Trubisky scored himself on the ground, and Pat Freiermuth (3 rec, 18 yards) made the two-point conversion. There is a match (18-21). Because at the same time, the Patriots can no longer do it. Ezekiel Elliott is stuffed with balls, but the attack does not advance. Worse, Zappe is intercepted in his part of the field. Fortunately for him, the defense put the Steelers in check on a fourth attempt straight away.
Defenses are the theme at the end of the match. After the Steelers touchdown, it's three punts for New England, one for Pittsburgh, and above all a failure on 4th & 2 for Trubisky less than 2 minutes from the end. The locals have one last ball with 15 seconds to play, but nothing to do, the Patriots snatch the victory.
The race for the playoffs is getting very complicated for the Steelers. The first choice in the Draft also for the Patriots.
