While there should be no shame in losing to the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots didn't play all that well in the season opener. Some concerns from last season still linger, and they won't have A.J. Brown for at least the next month-plus.
Hopefully, some home cooking will help them get back on track. They'll host a Pittsburgh Steelers team that looked far from impressive in the opener, and they have a knack for licking their wounds and bouncing back quickly.
Of course, it'll take a strong effort and some adjustments to make the most of this seemingly favorable matchup. After watching both teams in Week 1, these are the five biggest questions to answer before this matchup.
5 Burning questions the Patriots must answer vs. the Steelers
Will they have more success establishing the run?
Despite Josh McDaniels' insistence, the Patriots couldn't get the run game going in Week 1. Rhamondre Stevenson kept running into a brick wall, averaging just 2.8 yards per carry and logging 51 rushing yards on 18 attempts.
TreVeyon Henderson might be available after missing the opener, which would be huge for a team that needed Drake Maye to scramble seven times for 47 yards to amass 109 rushing yards for the evening.
The Steelers' defensive front isn't nearly as stout as the Seahawks', and having a speedy, explosive playmaker like Henderson to shake things up should help. Play-calling must be more creative, too.
Are they prepared to slow down superstar receiver D.K. Metcalf better than they did with Jaxon Smith-Njigba?
As good a player as DK Metcalf is, he also has a long and well-documented history of mental breakdowns. He can be easily rattled and can take himself out of games pretty quickly; he's his own worst enemy.
Metcalf didn't get anything going in the season opener. He caught just four of 10 targets for 40 yards, and while Aaron Rodgers blamed the referees for some of his miscues, he just wasn't a factor in the win.
The Seahawks moved Christian Gonzalez around instead of keeping him on Jaxon Smith-Njigba all night. They should take a different approach with the easily frustrated Metcalf in their first home game of the season.
Will Romeo Doubs have a bounce-back game to shut down concerns about his fit with the offense?
Saying Romeo Doubs would love to have his Patriots debut back wouldn't tell half the story. He was a decoy for most of the evening and wasted the perfect opportunity to make his mark. He did, but not for the best reasons.
Doubs dropped what would've been a 20+ yard gain because he tried to run before even having the ball. Maye didn't help him and should've hit him in stride instead, but watching the Patriots turn the ball over on the very next play only made matters worse.
The former Green Bay Packers wideout claimed that he 'wasn't locked in' in the opener, but the Patriots can't afford that to be the case again in Week 2. Joey Porter Jr. might sit this game as well, and Doubs should be the team's WR1 going forward.
What version of Will Campbell will we get?
After a rough end to his rookie season, all eyes were on Will Campbell entering this game. He held his own pretty well against one of the hardest-hitting defensive lines and pass-rushing units in the game at first, but again, that effort didn't last for 60 minutes.
Campbell was called for two late-game penalties, gave up a sack, and allowed two pressures in this one. He'll now face T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig so that things won't get much easier in Week 2.
The second-year left tackle has shown flashes of strong play, but he needs to be more consistent. And if that's not the case, how long a leash will Mike Vrabel give him, especially with Caleb Lomu waiting for an opportunity?
Can Drake Maye keep it together and avoid costly turnovers?
Thus far, the Drake Maye experience has been much more positive than negative. He's still learning the ropes, and people often forget that he's not even midway through his third season in the league.
That said, it was pretty clear in Week 1 that he was still in his head after the Super Bowl. Maybe he tried to do too much to make a statement, or perhaps it's just that the Seahawks have him figured out.
Either way, Maye must learn that great players have a short memory. Whatever happened in February and in Week 1 is all water under the bridge; he must move on and focus on the task at hand. He can be a superstar, but the lows, few as they've been, have been comically low.
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