The New England Patriots continued their intra-conference dominance of the AFC North by defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 27 to 16 on the road.
LeGarrette Blount rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns while Tom Brady continued his revenge tour with a 222 yard throwing performance and two touchdowns through the air.
The Steelers came in injured, playing without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, defensive end Cameron Heyward, and back up (but still excellent) running back DeAngelo Williams. Backup quarterback Landry Jones threw for more yards than Tom Brady with 281, but only threw one touchdown and also threw a costly interception in the end zone. While Pittsburgh was able to move the ball down into Patriots territory, they were unable to capitalize on momentum and were forced to attempt field goals when touchdowns were needed. Superstar wide reciever Antonio Brown had over 100 yards recieving on the day, but was unable to find the endzone.
What It Means
The AFC North is basically the wild (north?) west at this point. Pittsburgh will have a rough time with Big Ben injured, and while the rest of the division isn’t doing so well (only Cincinnati won this week, against Cleveland no less), the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals are both capable of overtaking the division and pushing Pittsburgh out of the playoff picture. Pittsburgh also needs to work on cutting down on the amount of penalties they committed, as they committed 10 on the day, one of which called back a Darrius Heyward-Bey touchdown that would have helped shift momentum in the Steelers favor.
On the other side of things, the Patriots now have a two game lead on the AFC East after the Miami Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills. New England looks to be the most dominant team in the entire AFC, with Brady continuing to play mistake free football, and the offense taking a more balanced approach. The Patriots committed two turnovers on Sunday, both fumbles, but have yet to turn it over in the air.
Stat of the Game
Tom Brady is 9 and 2 in his all-time record against the Steelers, throwing for 26 touchdowns and three interceptions through 11 games. Brady must like when Pittsburgh shows up on the schedule.
In more football spiking related news, Rob Gronkowski is now tied for the most touchdown receptions in franchise history with 68. One can only assume that this recorded will be broken by the end of this season.
Unsung Hero
Welcome back Jamie Collins. After not playing last week against Cincinnati, Collins lead New England's defense in solo tackles with 8 on the day. Possibly the most athletic player at the position in the entire league, Collins is a huge difference maker in the Patriots line backing core.
Noteworthy
Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski continues to struggle this season, missing an extra point against the Steelers. Gostkowski has missed 3 field goals and 2 extra points through 7 games. Last season Gostkowski hit every extra point during the regular season (only missing a crucial one during the AFC championship game), and only missed 3 field goals throughout the entire season. While Bill Belichick seems determined to keep his faith in Gostkowski alive, a continuance of lackluster performances could lead to other kickers being tried out.
What’s Next
The New England Patriots travel to Buffalo to take on the AFC East Rival Bill’s and head coach Rex Ryan. Kickoff is at 1 PM Eastern Standard time, with the game available on local CBS affiliates and streamed through NFL Sunday Ticket.
