Stealing a win in Miami in Week 2 was a well-timed celebration for this year's Patriots' team, as they continue to usher in a new era under Mike Vrabel. The rough season opener against the Raiders left a foul taste in their mouth, so they were able to turn things around against the Dolphins and planned to build upon that success against the Steelers this past Sunday.
But they accomplished nearly the complete opposite, with five total turnovers and costly penalties to give Aaron Rodgers more opportunities to march down the field and score points. Although the Patriots only lost by a touchdown, it could have been a lot worse, and now it looks like they have even more issues to address before facing the Panthers next weekend.
It wasn't a totally unexpected result, given how much better the Steelers are considered, even with a depleted defense. However, the Patriots' efforts were noticeably weak, as bad football and avoidable mistakes set them up for failure early and often.
It was a much-needed win against a team that didn't play much better at the end of the day. Despite the five turnovers, the Steelers only won by a touchdown that was scored late in the fourth quarter, proving the Patriots played a mostly decent game but not well enough to win, as echoed by fans and reporters.
Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal, however, might have summed it up the best.
The Patriots cannot continue to make mistakes and give winnable games away this season
While discussing what happened during their Week 3 matchup, Bedard described the Patriots' latest loss as one they "just gave away," similar to how they performed against the Raiders in Week 1.
.@GregABedard reacts to the Patriots lose to Steelers
— Patriots on CLNS (@PatriotsCLNS) September 21, 2025
"The Patriots pretty much dominated the game for about 2 Quarters...Much like the Raiders game in week 1 that they just gave away to a team that's really not that good." pic.twitter.com/OfEWWQJ4Hs
There were plenty of opportunities for them to put the game away and secure their first home win of the season, especially considering the turnovers that occurred in the red zone and could have resulted in points rather than a new offensive series for the Steelers.
That's what made the fumbles even more frustrating and devastating, as they very easily could have handed the AFC foes a definitive loss and looked like a much more powerful team than they have been given credit for thus far.
However, the same mistakes that have been a problem over the last several years resurfaced in Foxboro, and it's challenging to determine what they need to do to prevent them from happening again next week or in any subsequent games.
They fortunately have the Panthers next week at home, even though they are coming off an impressive win over the Falcons that could put their domination over a bad team in jeopardy. But the hope (of course) is that they will manage to bounce back from another tough loss, get Christian Gonzalez back in the lineup, and avoid self-sabotage to end the month with a 2-2 record.