The Steelers defense finally made the type of history Mike Tomlin had previously alluded to during Sunday's Week 3 win over the Patriots. The 21-14 win included five forced turnovers by the Steelers, the most turnovers committed by a Patriots team since the Steelers' last win in New England way back in 2008.
Pittsburgh's offense parlayed the turnovers into 14 points that included Aaron Rodgers' game-winning touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III with just over two minutes left. The Steelers defense then sealed the win when backup cornerback Brandin Echols tackled DeMario Douglas for no gain on a fourth-and-1 play.
Echols, playing in place of injured starter Darius Slay, also came down with a massive interception of Drake Maye in the end zone at the end of the first half which preserved Pittsburgh's 14-7 lead at intermission.
Down 14-0 early, the Patriots rallied back to tie the score early in the fourth quarter when Maye threw his second touchdown pass of the day to tight end Hunter Henry. But the Patriots could not overcome their mistakes that included T.J. Watt's recovery of a Maye fumble that set up Rodgers' game-winning touchdown pass to Austin.
As alluded to earlier, the Patriots had wiped out a 14-0 deficit after Maye hit Henry for the game-tying score early in the fourth quarter. New England then had the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory after converting on its fourth fourth-down conversion of the game on a short run by Maye.
But just one play after Maye's run, he fumbled the ball away after it was jarred loose by outside linebacker Nick Herbig. The fumble was scooped up by Watt, who was incensed on the previously play after being held on Maye's fourth-down conversion.
Instead of driving for the go-ahead score, the Patriots instead watched as Rodgers and Austin gave Pittsburgh the lead for good on the Steelers' ensuing possession.
One of Pittsburgh's less heralded offseason acquisitions made two of the game's biggest plays. In addition to making the game-clinching tackles of Douglas, Echols' pick of Maye just before halftime abruptly ended New England's 17-play, 92-yard drive.
Cam Heyward, whose deflection helped contribute to Echols' pick, created another big play in the second half when he forced Rhamondre Stevenson's second fumble of the game that prevented a game-tying touchdown.
In addition to his fumble recovery, Watt also recorded two of Pittsburgh's five sacks of Maye. It was the first two sacks of the season for Watt while ending his six-game drought without a sack.
Ironically, the Patriots' five turnovers were the most in a game since Nov. 30, 2008, a 33-10 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers.
New England's first turnover occurred on the game's third play when linebacker Cole Holcomb (getting his first start in nearly two years) forced a Stevenson. The turnover set up the game's first touchdown on a short run by Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell.
Stevenson's second fumble negated former Steeler Robert Spillane's pick of Rodgers at the start of the second half. New England fumbled again (this one courtesy of Antonio Gibson) on its ensuing drive before tying the score on a 15-play, 88-yard drive that included two fourth-down conversions.
Given the fumbles by Stevenson and Gibson, one has to think that Patriots coach Mike Vrabel will consider giving rookie second-round pick TreVeyon Henderson more of an opportunity. Henderson apparently hasn't received as much work because of his lack of success in pass protection.
While the stats won't show it, the Steelers offense showed some subtle improvements, especially on its first two drives and on its final drive.
They ran for just 64 yards (including just 12 yards in the second half), but Pittsburgh threw a myriad of quick passes that served as pseudo runs. Jaylen Warren, in addition to rushing for a game-high 47 yards, caught five passes for 34 yards that included a key 15-yard catch-and-carry on Pittsburgh's game-winning drive.
Pittsburgh's offensive line also played better while not allowing a sack of Rodgers, who was taken down seven times in the Steelers' first two games.
Rodgers passed former teammate Brett Favre into fourth place on the all-time career passing touchdown list after hitting DK Metcalf on a 12-yard strike early in the second quarter. He later passed Philip Rivers into sixth place on the all-time list for career passing yards.
After converting on their first four fourth downs, the Patriots miss on fourth-and-1 when Brandin Echols tackles DeMario Douglas for no gain. Echols also had the end zone pick at the end of the first half.
Steelers win the game and go to 2-1 on the season. The Patriots lose to drop to 1-2.
The Steelers capped off their best drive of the game with a go-ahead TD pass from Aaron Rodgers to Calvin Austin III with just over two minutes left. The score was set up by Watt's recovery of Drake Maye's fumble.
The Steelers' success on that drive was set up by Jaylen Warren, who made plays in the air and on the ground.
One play after converting again on fourth down, the Patriots commit yet another penalty when T.J. Watt scoops up Nick Herbig's strip sack of Maye midway through the fourth quarter. Watt shakes the ball at the Patriots' sideline after the play. He wasn't happy after being held on Maye's run on fourth down on the previous play.
Can the Steelers' offense do anything? I'd try to get Jaylen Warren going, maybe a screen pass or something easy to get him in space.
Steelers punt yet again as their offense has no signs of life at this point. They have no running game and no rhythm in the passing game. Rodgers misfires on multiple downfield throws on that drive, although there may have been a hold on Calvin Austin III on one of those misfires that wasn't called.
Rodgers isn't getting enough protection to step into his throws, which is one of the reasons why he isn't getting anything down downfield. Pittsburgh's lack of a No. 2 wideout is also becoming a major issue.
Pats now 3 of 3 on fourth downs today after Maye hits Henry for the duo's second TD combo of the day.
Henry races right by Payton Wilson, who had a fumble recovery earlier in the game. Maye is now 20 of 28 for 201 yards with 2 TD's and a pick today. Patriots offense firing on all cylinders; that was their second drive today of at least 15 plays. They've now run 55 plays to Pittsburgh's 33.
Patriots trail and face a big fourth-and-2 on the Steelers' 16-yard-line. Pats are 2 of 2 so far today on fourth down, and it appears like a foregone conclusion that they're going to go for it here.
Patriots are down seven despite committing four turnovers that include two in the red zone. New England's defense has been great after giving up TD's on their first two drives. The Steelers had negative running yards in the third quarter and Rodgers was just 1 of 6 for 9 yards in the third.
Antonio Gibson coughs up the ball this time, and it's scooped up by former Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers. That's the third fumble by Patriots running backs today and the second one this half.
Cam Heyward jars the ball out of Stevenson's hands just before he crossed the goal line. The fumble is scooped by by Pittsburgh LB Payton Wilson. The Patriots don't get any points out of Spillane's pick.
Heyward had a batted pass earlier in the game that led to a pick. Last week, he batted a pass that also led to an interception.
Rodgers throws the ball right to former Steelers ILB Robert Spillane, who returns it 37 yards to the Patriots' 11-yard line.
Spillane dropped into coverage and Rodgers never saw him. His third pick of the season.
Score: Steelers 14, Patriots 7
Total yards: Patriots, 175-122
First downs: Patriots, 13-12
Third downs: Patriots 5-8, Steelers 2-3
Red zone: Steelers 2-2, Patriots 1-2
TOP: Patriots, 16:56
Rodgers: 8-10, 70 yards, TD, 0 sacks
Maye: 13-21, 130 yards, TD, INT, 3 sacks
Steelers: 52 yards and a TD on 14 carries (Warren 35 yards on 10 carries)
Patriots: 56 yards on 11 carries (Gibson 19 yards on 5 carries)
Metcalf: 2 catches on 2 targets, 27 yards, TD
Stevenson: 3 catches, 38 yards
Diggs: 2 catches, 18 yards
Brandin Echols' end zone pick (aided by Cam Heyward's tipped pass) keeps the score 14-7 Steelers at halftime. Patriots don't score after moving 92 yards in 17 plays that included a fourth-down conversion deep in their own territory.
T.J. Watt gets his first sack of the season late in the first half. But the sack doesn't end the Patriots' drive after Maye hits Boutte for 20 yards on a third-and-13 play. Patriots are 3 of 3 on third down and 1 of 1 on fourth down on this drive.
Rodgers was shouting at someone downfield after he threw incomplete on third down as the Steelers punt for the first time. Rodgers was forced out of the pocket before misfiring on a pass intended for Pat Freiermuth.
Drake Maye cap off ND's third drive with a nice play-action TD pass to TE Hunter Henry. The drive was the cumulation of chunk plays for the Patriots, who gained just 25 yards on their first two drives. The Patriots executed quick plays that led to Pittsburgh's pass rush being a non-factor.
Steelers score TD's on their first two drives as Rodgers hits Metcalf on a nifty 12-yard score to open the second quarter. With that TD, Rodgers has passed former teammate Brett Favre into sole possession of fourth place on the NFL's all-time TD pass list.
Steelers will have the ball in Patriots territory as the second quarter opens. Pittsburgh has had success with quick passes that have somewhat served as running plays. The Steelers did get a nice intermediate completion on a 21-yard play from Rodgers to TE Jonnu Smith, who had an active first quarter.
Patriots committed four defensive penalties in the first quarter, including a hold on CB Alex Austin that negated a third-down sack. Austin is playing in place of injured starter Gonzalez.
Patriots second drive ends with Derrick Harmon collaborating with Cam Heyward on a sack. This is Harmon's first regular season game after he missed the first two weeks with a knee injury.
Harmon also had an impressive chase down tackle earlier in the drive.
Darius Slay leaves the field after getting shaken up on Patriots second drive. Slay recorded the fumble recovery on NE's first drive that set up the game's lone TD so far.
Speaking of that fumble, the Patriots benched Stevenson for this drive. He's been replaced by rookie and former Ohio State standout TreVeyon Henderson.
Pittsburgh's offense parlays Holcomb's forced fumble into a Kenneth Gainwell TD that was set up by Aaron Rodgers' 15-yard completion to DK Metcalf and an 11-yard run by Jaylen Warren.
Steelers had balance on that drive, which they largely lacked during the season's first two weeks.
Cole Holcomb, starting his first game in nearly two years, forces a fumble of Rhamondre Stevenson on the game's first drive. Fumble is recovered by Darius Slay.
The Steelers are mixing a few things up today in an effort to fix their defense. Perhaps the biggest one is Cole Holcomb apparently replacing Payton Wilson at starting ILB. Wilson had a sack last week, but he's not as good in run support as Holcomb, who battled back to make the Steelers' roster after a serious knee injury sustained in 2023 wiped out his entire 2024 season.
With Kaleb Johnson's struggles, the Steelers activated fellow RB Trey Sermon off the practice squad on Saturday. Sermon, a former 49ers third round pick, had a successful summer with Pittsburgh that included two touchdowns in the preseason. He might be the Steelers' best RB in between the tackles. Will be interesting to see if he gets any playing time today.
Click here to read a story we did this summer about Sermon's impressive start to training camp.
The Patriots are wearing their throwback jerseys that they wore during their first Super Bowl appearance back in 1985. It's been a weekend of remembering for the Patriots, who yesterday inducted former WR Julian Edelman and former coach Bill Parcells into their Hall of Fame.
New England is healthier than Pittsburgh, but it will continue to be without Christian Gonzalez. Marcus Jones is once again in line to replace Gonzalez in the starting lineup.
The Patriots have been elite against the run this season, but they are struggling mightily against the pass. They are 32nd in the league so far in passing yards allowed.
Pittsburgh is without three defensive starters today in Porter, Highsmith and Elliott. Derrick Harmon is active for the first time this season after injuring his knee in the Steelers' preseason finale.
Injuries has been a reason why Pittsburgh's defense has struggled so far this season. Teams have also found a way to neutralize T.J. Watt, who hasn't had a sack in six games dating back to last season.
Welcome to our live coverage of Steelers-Patriots. Both teams enter today's game with 1-1 records.
The Patriots lost a close game to the Raiders in Week 1 but rebounded with a 33-27 win over the Dolphins last Sunday. Conversely, the Steelers opened the 2025 season with a dramatic win over the Jets, but struggled during last Sunday's home opener against Seattle.
The Steelers have lost four straight games in New England and haven't won in Foxboro since 2008.
