A main theme of the Patriots' 2025 season so far is getting in their own way, which ensures they make a win as difficult as possible to accomplish. Unfortunately, this strategy has been effective, as they now enter Week 4 with a 1-2 record. They were just a play or two away from being undefeated; however, on the other side, a play or two away from being winless, too.
Much of that has been the result of costly turnovers, foolish mistakes leading to bad penalties, and the lack of competent football being played by all units of the team. We saw a lot of that this past weekend, but it certainly didn't help that officiating was incredibly bad for both teams, resulting in 15 total penalties for 109 yards on the day.
Regarding the Patriots, there were a lot of questionable calls made that set them up for failure. Even if the flags could be argued as legitimate, the timing of them was almost more costly than the penalties themselves.
That is something that cannot continue deep into the season, or they are going to be setting themselves up for an even worse year with fewer attainable wins during a very telling season.
Bad officiating only deepens Patriots’ misery after Steelers showdown
One of the biggest culprits of the ill-timed penalties was unfortunately cornerback Alex Austin, who recorded two horrific calls on third and long, which ultimately extended Aaron Rodgers' ability to move down the field.
The first came on the Steelers' first drive, as Austin was called for a phantom defensive pass interference call. Rodgers led the offense to their first score of the game, putting them ahead early, and that continued on their next series, also as a result of Austin's mistake/bad penalty.
The cornerback was called for a hold on a 3rd-and-6 play that resulted in a fumble by Rodgers after a brutal sack by Milton Williams. Although the Steelers ultimately recovered it, it still would have led to a punt, yet they were given a first down because of Austin's penalty.
Other costly penalties resulted from an "unnecessary roughness" call on Marcus Jones, resulting in a 15-yard gain for the Steelers, and a DPI call on Carlton Davis III on a 3rd-and-8 play deep in Pittsburgh's territory, which was clearly not a catchable pass to D.K. Metcalf.
You mean to tell me this was a catchable ball?? pic.twitter.com/wNbKlYcSpY
— Carlos A. Lopez (@LosTalksPats) September 21, 2025
There is plenty that needs to be cleaned up by the Patriots, and we saw that they have made avoidable mistakes in the first two games, but there are times, as seen in this latest game, that officials are flag-happy and just want to make their presence known as much as possible.
The Patriots certainly don't help themselves when they commit a penalty and have to bounce back from their own shortcomings, which will not help them win any more games this season. That is something that needs to be addressed as soon as possible, especially since it was emphasized as a key practice by Mike Vrabel, and we haven't yet seen the benefits of that approach.