What Went Right, What Went Wrong

What went right, wrong vs. Patriots

Dec 16, 2018 at 07:30 PM

Bob Labriola

Steelers.com

The highs and lows of the Steelers matchup vs. the New England Patriots.

COIN TOSS: Patriots call heads. It's tails. Steelers win the toss and elect to receive.

4:35 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers won the toss and elected to receive, and the change in strategy paid off. An 11-play, 75-yard drive ended with a 5-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Vance McDonald, and the Steelers took a 7-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first period. Roethlisberger completed 6-of-7 for 31 yards and the score, while Jaylen Samuels had four carries for 39 yards.

4:46 p.m. – What Went Wrong: It took the Patriots just three plays, plus a 5-yard defensive penalty, to answer the Steelers' touchdown and tie the game, 7-7, with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter. The big play was a 63-yard pass from Tom Brady to a wide open Chris Hogan, who was left all alone after three defenders followed Josh Gordon to the other side of the field.

4:49 p.m. – What Went Wrong: After one first down, the Steelers' second possession was ruined by two sacks over a span of three plays. Kyle Van Noy got the first sack, for a loss of 10 yards, and then on third down, Jonathan Jones sacked Ben Roethlisberger for a loss of 7 more. Following Jordan Berry's punt, the Patriots took over at their 22-yard line with 3:06 remaining in the first quarter.

4:55 p.m. – What Went Right: The Steelers defense forced a New England punt on the ensuing possession. Julian Edelman dropped one pass, and then some pressure on Tom Brady forced an inaccurate throw to James White on third down. The Steelers took over at their 8-yard line with 1:18 left in the first quarter.

5:08 p.m. – What Went Right: After the New England punt, the Steelers needed only eight plays to cover 92 yards and take the lead, 14-7, on a 17-yard pass to Antonio Brown. JuJu Smith-Schuster made a big-time catch along the sideline for 22 yards to get the drive going, and then Eli Rogers caught passes of 6 and 6 yards before drawing a 26-yard pass interference penalty on Jonathan Jones. There was 12:01 left in the second quarter.

5:23 p.m. – What Went Wrong: The Patriots' second punt was downed at the Steelers 1-yard line, but the offense punched it out with a series of big gains, including a 12-yard run by Stevan Ridley, a 24-yard completion to Antonio Brown, and then a 17-yard run by Jaylen Samuels. Two plays later, however, Ben Roethlisberger's pass for JuJu Smith-Schuster was overthrown and intercepted by Duron Harmon at the Patriots 24-yard line with 6:01 remaining in the first half.

5:27 p.m. – What Went Right: After the interception, the Patriots offense went three-and-out, and after the punt the Steelers rook over at their own 28-yard line with 5:13 left in the first half.

5:47 p.m. – What Went Right: Following a Jordan Berry punt, the Patriots got the ball at their 19-yard line with 3:03 remaining and all three timeouts. After one first down, the Patriots faced a third-and-9, and Tom Brady completed an 8-yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson for what turned into a gain of 8 yards following a booth review on the spot of the ball. New England opted to punt, and the Steelers took a knee to end the first half. The Steelers held a 14-7 lead at halftime.

6:04 p.m. – What Went Right: On the opening possession of the second half, the Patriots earned one first down on a 13-yard run by Sony Michel, but after that, it was a three-and-out with Josh Gordon dropping a pass on third-and-6. After the Patriots punt, the Steelers started on their 21-yard line.