The Patriots' first game of the season was expected to kick off with a bang, as they were set to get revenge on the Seahawks, who had beaten them badly in the Super Bowl seven months earlier. It was a Week 1 game everyone wanted to see, until it got going and it became clear a more exciting matchup wasn't in the cards.
For New England, they had one positive to take away from the game, despite the loss, which was that they did fare better than they did in the championship game, and had it not been for three consecutive turnovers by Drake Maye, they very well could have gotten the upset and stolen a win in Seattle.
For much of the game, it looked achievable, especially since their officiating crew threw a lot of flags on their opponents, and they avoided piling up their own until the fourth quarter.
And now we know they won't have an easier time in Week 2 when the Steelers come to town because Carl Cheffers and his crew are set to call the game, and they had the second-most penalties accepted in Week 1 with 19.
The Patriots can't escape flag-happy referees for their Week 2 game vs. the Steelers
Although Cheffers didn't call a single Patriots game in 2025, we don't have to look far to see what kind of officiating they'll face on Sunday because Cheffers and his crew were on hand for this past Sunday Night Football game between the Cowboys and the Giants.
Twenty flags were thrown during the game, 19 of which were accepted, for a total of penalty yards between the two teams.
Going into this week's matchup, the Patriots have plenty to clean up, especially since they went most of last week without a penalty. But by the end of the night, they racked up seven flags for 50 yards. The Seahawks, meanwhile, totaled 10 for 98 yards, so if the Patriots can replicate that part of last week's loss, it would help their chances against a very good Steelers team.
Pittsburgh had their fair share of penalties against the Falcons last week, recording 7 for 52 yards, so they were making plenty of mistakes themselves. That's part of the game the Patriots will need to take advantage of, and maybe even force, to help make a win a lot easier to achieve.
Playing at home for the first time this year should help make that happen, as long as Patriots fans show up and show out in a way that can make a massive difference.
The team will need that added motivation after the brutal and frustrating loss last week, which was very avoidable and can't happen again, or else the season could be completely off the rails with no hope of return.
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