Steelers overreactions after beating Patriots: Is the defense back? Can 'terrible' offense be fixed?

Aaron Rodgers didn't mince his words following the Steelers' win over the Patriots. 

Despite the victory, throwing two touchdowns and passing Brett Favre and Philip Rivers on separate career passing lists, Rodgers was not happy with how Pittsburgh's offense performed during Sunday's 21-14 triumph. 

"We were terrible on offense after the first two drives," Rodgers told CBS Sports' Evan Washburn afterward. "I didn't have a good game. ... The defense won the game. This was a classic Blitzburgh performance. Hats off of those guys. Offense, we've got to get into the film room and get better, because we can't have our defense save it for us like that every week." 

As Rodgers alluded to, Sunday's game was largely the byproduct of Pittsburgh's defense, which recorded five turnovers, the most by a Patriots offense since the Steelers' last win in New England way back in 2008. The fifth turnover, a strip-sack by Nick Herbig that was recovered by T.J. Watt, set up Rodgers' game-winning touchdown pass to Calvin Austin III, as the Steelers improved to 2-1 on the season. 

Rodgers' comments are part of our overreactions following Pittsburgh's win in Foxborough. 

Steelers defense is coming around 

Overreaction or reality? Reality 

While it wasn't enough to convince me that they are completely back, the Steelers defense -- which allowed the fourth-most points in the NFL during the season's first two weeks -- nonetheless showed in more ways than one that they are on the right track. 

The Steelers started the game by making a change in the starting lineup that paid immediate dividends. Linebacker Cole Holcomb, making his first start in nearly two years, forced a fumble of Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson on the game's third play. The turnover set up Pittsburgh's first touchdown. 

Pittsburgh also received a stellar performance from another backup in cornerback Brandin Echols. Playing in place of Darius Slay (who was injured in the first half), Echols made a key interception in the end zone at the end of the first half that preserved Pittsburgh's 14-7 halftime lead. He later sealed the win for the Steelers with his fourth-down tackle of Patriots wideout DeMario Douglas on New England's final offensive play. 

In addition to getting big plays from multiple backups, the Steelers also got notable performances from starters Watt, Cameron Heyward and Derrick Harmon, among others. Watt, in addition to his fumble recovery, recorded his first two sacks of the 2025 season while ending his six-game drought without a sack. Heyward forced a big fumble of Stevenson which prevented a Patriots touchdown. His deflection at the end of the first half resulted in Echols' pick. 

Harmon, playing in his first regular-season game (he missed Pittsburgh's first two games while dealing with a knee injury) recorded his first career sack while making a few other notable plays. 

Add all of this up, and it looks like Pittsburgh's defense is starting to look like the unit that Mike Tomlin predicted would do "historic" things. It should be noted, however, that Tomlin will be stressing possession downs this week after the Patriots were a combined 10 of 18 on third- and fourth-down conversion attempts. New England was a perfect 4 of 4 on fourth down until Echols' game-sealing tackle. 

Steelers offense is 'terrible' 

Overreaction of reality: Overreaction 

Rodgers was right in that the Steelers defense essentially won Sunday's game. But his criticism of Pittsburgh's offense is a little over the top. 

As Rodgers alluded to, the Steelers offense opened the game with consecutive drives that ended with touchdowns. While they weren't able to sustain that success, the fast start by Rodgers and Co. shouldn't be entirely dismissed. 

Pittsburgh's game-winning drive also showed what the unit is capable of. After gaining negative yards in the third quarter, the Steelers offense got it together to record a nine-play, 62-yard drive that was capped off with Rodgers' game-winning touchdown pass to Austin. 

All told, the Steelers gained just 203 yards of offense. While it was enough on Sunday, that lack of production won't be good enough to win most of the time. 

The running game continues to be the biggest issue. After gaining 52 yards in the first half, Pittsburgh finished the game with just 64 yards on 26 carries. Jaylen Warren led the team with just 47 yards on 18 carries.  

In lieu of a traditional running game, the Steelers threw a myriad of quick passes at the line of scrimmage that served as pseudo runs. These passes contributed to Warren catching five passes for 34 yards that included a key 15-yard catch-and-carry on Pittsburgh's game-winning drive. This is a testament to Arthur Smith and his ability to figure out a way to move the ball despite the team's lack of success on the ground. 

That being said, the Steelers need to figure out a way to consistently run the ball if they are going to have long-term success. One positive, however, is the fact that the Steelers' offensive line did not allow a single sack after giving up seven during the season's first two weeks. 

Rodgers didn't play well 

Overreaction or reality: Overreaction 

Rodgers, given his status as a surefire future Hall of Famer, didn't play up to his high standards. Sunday obviously wasn't one of his better games, but it wasn't bad, either. 

Rodgers was 8 of 10 for 70 yards and a touchdown in the first half and finished the game with 139 yards with two touchdowns and a pick on 16 of 23 passing. His most important play was his game-winning touchdown pass to Austin. 

For most of the game, Rodgers took what the Patriots defense gave him while executing Pittsburgh's low-risk offensive game plan. The one mistake he did make was his interception to former Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane on an intermediate throw. Rodgers clearly didn't see Spillane, who dropped back into coverage before jumping on Rodgers' pass intended for Austin. 

Fortunately for Rodgers, the Patriots didn't capitalize on the pick after Heyward forced Stevenson to fumble the ball just before he crossed the goal line. 

The Steelers are on the right track after three games 

Overreaction or reality: Reality

Week 3 was an odd one across the NFL. This was especially the case in Cleveland, where the previously winless Browns shocked the Packers, the team many were calling the NFC's best after two weeks. Given the unpredictability of the NFL, the fact that the Steelers are 2-1 after three weeks shouldn't be discounted. 

It wasn't always pretty, but the Steelers found a way to win two of their first three games despite some notable injuries, several clear weaknesses (i.e. the offensive line) and a lot of new players -- including the 41-year-old Rodgers -- still getting acclimated to his new surroundings. 

If nothing else, Sunday might be a foreshadowing of the Steelers' ability this season to win games by any means necessary. That has been a staple of Tomlin's teams throughout the years and is one of the reasons why he has never had a losing season.