Patriots thoroughly demolish Steelers on Sunday Night Football

The New England Patriots embarrassed the Pittsburgh Steelers on primetime television in a 33-3 rout after celebrating their sixth Super Bowl banner.

The New England Patriots underwent quite a tumultuous offseason filled with changes. They lost nine-year veteran tight end and league superstar Rob Gronkowski to an early retirement, saw key contributors like Trey Flowers and Trent Brown depart for other teams in free agency, and then had to wait until the regular season nearly was upon them to learn that Josh Gordon would be conditionally reinstated by the NFL.

And yet, none of that mattered on Sunday night.

Opening up their title defense against a familiar AFC foe in the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Patriots picked up right where they left off last February. In their last meaningful game – Super Bowl 53 – New England defeated the Los Angeles Rams in a brilliant defensive clinic that saw the Pats hold their opposition to just three points. Back in Foxborough to begin the 2019 season, the Patriots again held their opponent to three points – proving 2018’s finale wasn’t just a momentary fluke.

Without trying to rush to any conclusions, it’s hard not to come away being thoroughly impressed by this team defense.

Bill Belichick’s unit was actually down one of their key contributors on Sunday night, with starting linebacker and 2018 postseason MVP Kyle Van Noy absent as his wife gave birth to their child. That also didn’t matter; Dont’a Hightower, Jamie Collins, and JaWhaun Bentley were all lock-down defenders in his absence.

A better-than-advertised defensive front line, anchored by big bodies like Lawrence Guy and Danny Shelton, held the Steelers to just 32 total rushing yards on the evening. Last December in Pittsburgh, these same Steelers run roughshod over the Patriots, totaling 158 yards on the ground – and that was without starting back James Conner, to boot.

The Steelers weren’t a whole lot better through the air, either. New England’s defense looks stout from front to back, but it’s the secondary that seems the most impressive on paper and on the field (at least through the first week of action). The McCourty twins, Stephon Gilmore, and Jonathan Jones all headline what is arguably the deepest and most-talented group of defensive backs in Bill Belichick’s Patriots tenure.

Surprisingly, it was the Patriots offense that had the most to prove coming into this game. With Gronkowski retired and Tom Brady now 42 years of age, there were legitimate questions about just how potent this offense could be in Brady and Belichick’s 20th season on the job.

If one night is any indication, those questions can be safely put to rest. As he has been so frequently throughout his career against the Steelers, Brady was pure dynamite. He extended a perfect, unbeaten record against Pittsburgh while at home in Massachusetts, carving up a porous, confused Steeler defense to the tune of 341 yards and three touchdowns.

Most impressive and encouraging of all were the deep shots Brady took. With critics continuing to forecast his rapid and inevitable decline, Brady’s arm showed no outward signs of weakness. He dropped bombs to Phillip Dorsett and Josh Gordon all night long, looking very much like a player half his age on the field.

If there was a major area that could be improved upon Sunday night, it’s probably the run game. Rex Burkhead and James White both averaged well over five yards per clip on their rushing attempts, but second-year back and presumptive starter Sony Michel averaged just 0.9 yards per rush and 14 total yards on 15 attempts.

Those are obviously extremely subpar numbers for Michel, but they could also be the result of the Steelers stacking the box with eight or nine defenders every time he entered the game. Michel is bound to have better days ahead, especially now that other teams will have to respect the Patriots’ passing game after a postseason in which they leaned so heavily on their power-running attack. Still, it wasn’t the ideal opening salvo for the former Georgia Bulldog.

Of course, the major topic of conversation looming over Sunday night had everything to do with a player who wasn’t even at Gillette Stadium. Former-Steeler-turned-Raider-now-Patriot Antonio Brown was released by Oakland early Saturday morning after a disastrous offseason of soap opera drama… only to be scooped up and signed by the Patriots less than six hours later.

Brown officially joined New England on Monday, and now looks to carve out a sizable role on an already-stacked Patriots receiving corps that includes Gordon, Dorsett, Julian Edelman, and Demaryius Thomas, among others. Just how seamlessly Brown integrates himself into this offense – and adheres to the no-nonsense Patriot Way – figures to be the dominant storyline heading into Week 2 as the Patriots travel to Miami to face the woebegone Dolphins.