For the Steelers, missed field goals, blown coverages, and botched time management doomed them in this one. The game started slowly, with a scoreless first quarter. But the Patriots dominated for the second and third quarters, and then cruised to the win, giving up a garbage-time touchdown for the final tally.
Quarterback Tom Brady started slowly, too, missing a few passes and not converting some early first downs. But he finished 25 of 32 (78.1%) for 288 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and a 143.8 passer rating. His pocket presence was excellent and he set a new team record with 19 consecutive passes completed.
Receiver Julian Edelman did most of the grunt work, converting 8 first downs on his 11 catches (for 97 yards). But the tight ends did most of the damage: Rob Gronkowski caught 5 for 97 yards and 3 touchdowns, and newcomer Scott Chandler nabbed a touchdown on a crossing pattern near the and zone.
Running back Dion Lewis added 4 catches for 51 yards to his team-leading 69 yards on the ground (on 15 carries). He had a fumble when the rain picked up, but Gronkowski recovered it. And uncharacteristically the Patriots went right back to Lewis, so they obviously have faith that the play was a fluke.
Lewis also did a decent job blocking in pass protection. And when suspended back LeGarrette Blount returns next week, Lewis might have won the third-down spot. As for the rest of the running backs; never mind, they didn't do much of anything.
The offensive line is in flux. Center Bryan Stork was placed on injured reserve (can't play until at least week 9), and backup center Ryan Wendell was inactive for Thursday's tilt. That left tackles Nate Solder and Sebastian Vollmer bracketing three rookies -- center David Andrews and guards Tre' Jackson and Shaq Mason -- along with second-year backup Josh Kline.
The three rookies got most of the playing time, and the reviews are mixed. On one of Brady's sacks, all three rookies blocked one man while the other ran untouched to tackle the quarterback. However, on an 11-yard run around right-end, Mason got multiple blocks on one play: one to seal the edge and two more downfield. And for the most part, Brady stayed clean, so they must have done something right.
The veterans were okay. Solder had a rough start with two penalties in the first quarter, but he settled down nicely. Vollmer wasn't mentioned all game, and many of the successful runs went off-tackle to his side, which is a good sign. It will take time to sort all this out. Might not look great next week against the Buffalo pressure defense, but overall it should get better as the season progresses.
On defense it was sometimes tough to tell how well things went. They gave up only 14 total points while the game was in doubt, but the Steelers averaged a healthy 7.0 yards per play. Pittsburgh's incompetence accounted for much of the low score, but some of that can be attributed to decent defensive play.
The secondary plan seemed unusual for the Patriots. Still unproven corner Malcolm Butler covered Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown one-on-one, with predictable results: 9 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown. In the past, the Patriots would put their second-best corner on the best receiver, and give him safety help, freeing their best corner to take on the second-best receiver one-on-one.
Maybe this was a test to see how Butler held up. If so, might be time to switch back to the other plan. Butler was close on a lot of plays, but close doesn't get you much in this league. And when the Patriots play better offenses, they could have trouble using Butler this way.
The rest of the secondary was nondescript; some good, some bad, but nothing that really stood out. Bradley Fletcher got beaten regularly, And for those hoping Tarell Brown will solidify things, probably not -- he was up-and-down with the rest of them.
Given that the Patriots played mostly nickel in this game, the odd man out was linebacker Jerod Mayo. But 'backers Dont'a Hightower (8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hit) and Jamie Collins (6 tackles) did an admirable job in his absence, especially given the extra real estate they had to cover. It wasn't perfect; there were a couple of missed run blitzes by Hightower that led to big runs, and the pass coverage on tight end Heath Miller was suspect.
As for the defensive line, Jabaal Sheard played very well, holding the edge on the run and getting 3 tackles and a sack. The rest of the crew was in early season form; that is, inconsistent. Rob Ninkovich gave up the edge on a few runs his way, and the middle of the line didn't do enough to push the pocket.
Special teams were on the field for two missed field goals by Pittsburgh, they recovered an onside kick at the end of the game, but they also botched the return on a squib kick. Punter Ryan Allen did a nice job, with a 42-yard net average and one boomer of 67 yards.
The coaches played it conservative and let their overall talent and home-field advantage win in the end. But it's always interesting to see the contrast -- the Steelers' coaches called an ill-advised flea-flicker on the first drive and totally botched clock management late in the game.
In other words, Pittsburgh coaches cracked under the pressure almost before there was any (first drive), and then followed it up with poor decision-making late. While the Patriots only questionable decision was passing twice with 7:30 left in the game -- when running two plays would have left the Steelers two scores down with about 6:00 remaining.
So where does that leave us? 1-0 gives the Patriots a one-quarter share of the lead in the AFC East, where all teams won on Sunday. It's off to Buffalo next week, and given the pressure defense the Bills showed today, those rookies on the offensive line will have their hands full. Perhaps the return of Blount will allow for more power running to keep the Bills honest. Should be interesting to watch.
Statistical Oddity of the Week: Bill Belichick ranks fourth all-time in winning percentage (65.9%) among head coaches with at least 20 years in the NFL. (Trivia question: how many of the coaches ahead of him can you name? Answer below).
Weekly Water-cooler Wisdom: "Buffalo next week will be a tougher game, but it's nice to start the season off with a win."
Keep the faith,
- Scott
PS. 1-0!
PPS. Trivia Answer:
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George Halas (68.2%), Don Shula (67.7%), and Paul Brown (67.2%) have higher winning percentages than Bill Belichick. (Note: Belichick would have to win his next 24 consecutive games to take over the lead from Halas).
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