PITTSBURGH — The Patriots lost their second straight heartbreaker Sunday, dropping a 17-10 decision to the Steelers at Heinz Field.
New England had its chances, including one in the final moments, but a series of passes from Tom Brady toward the end zone were off-target, setting off a series of celebrations in Pittsburgh and sending the Patriots to another December defeat on the road.
Brady finished 25-for-36 for 279 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Julian Edelman had seven catches for 90 yards, while Sony Michel chipped in with 13 carries for 59 yards in the loss.
The teams traded first-quarter touchdowns — Pittsburgh struck first when Ben Roethlisberger found Vance McDonald with a five-yard touchdown pass on the Steelers first drive. The Patriots responded with a thunderbolt of a 63-yard touchdown strike from Brady to Chris Hogan on the next drive to knot the game at seven. Pittsburgh added a second-quarter touchdown when Roethlisberger connected with Antonio Brown with a 17-yarder to make it 14-7 before the half.
New England cut it to 14-10 with a 33-yarder from Stephen Gostkowski in the third, putting the exclamation point on a 13-play drive for the Patriots, one of the longest of the season. After Duron Harmon’s second interception of the day, New England was able to maneuver down to the Pittsburgh 5, but a series of penalties and a bad decision by Brady that ended with an interception gave the Steelers the ball back. Pittsburgh tacked on a 48-yard field goal to make it 17-0 with 2:30 remaining. That set the stage for the wild finish, as the Patriots couldn’t convert from the Steelers’ 21, with a fourth-quarter pass attempt from Brady to Edelman was off the mark.
IN GAME UPDATES
7:19 p.m.: That'll do it. No flags on the play. Steelers are going to win.
7:17 p.m.: Feels like the AFC title game in Denver a few years ago.
7:16 p.m.: 14 penalties.
7:15 p.m.: Place is crazy loud. Pats are driving.
7:14 p.m.: 13 penalties.
7:10 p.m.: Pats nearing midfield at the two-minute warning.
7:07 p.m.: And it's good -- 17-10 with 2:30 to go. It's hold on to your butts time.
7:07 p.m.: Well, this should be interesting.
7:02 p.m.: 12 penalties today on the Patriots. You can say what you want to say about the officials, it's a sloppy display by New England.
7:00 p.m.: That third-down pickup was a killer. Pats have to start thinking about using their TOs.
6:55 p.m.: Steelers moving the ball here. Pittsburgh doing whatever it can to bleed the clock.
6:49 p.m.: That's a bad choice by Brady, and it ends in an interception. Edelman was banged up at the end of the play. He needs assistance coming off the field, but is sitting on the bench near Brady.
6:44 p.m.: Quite the afternoon for the zebras. Sheesh.
6:41 p.m.: Time to unleash the Kraken. First catch of the day there for Gronkowski, a 13-yarder that moves the chains.
6:40 p.m.: Harmon comes away with another pick -- big play there that opens the door for the Patriots. It feels like the Steelers are trying to give this one away ... again.
6:30 p.m.: Thirty-three yarder is good. 14-10 with 17 seconds left in the third. A 13-play drive, one of their longest of the season, goes 8:13 and ends in a field goal to make it 14-10. (Only five drives this season went for more plays.) All that despite the fact the Pats are still 1-for-7 on third down.
6:25 p.m.: One of the reasons why Rob Gronkowski hasn't had all that many chances in the passing game is because he's being called upon to try and help slow T.J. Watt. Not all the time, but he's over there an awful lot. Cannon is having issues one-on-one.
6:24 p.m.: This is just a tractor pull of a ballgame right now. Just work and work and grind and grind until something opens up.
6:22 p.m.: Very little offensive consistency for the Patriots right now.
6:19 p.m.: Patriots killing themselves with penalties today. That's eight.
6:14 p.m.: NO GOOD. Boy, I tell you what, the Pats dodged a big bullet there. Steelers had it inside the 5, and come away with nothing. New England has been given a gift -- let's see how the Patriots respond. (Boswell's 12th miss of the year draws big boos.)
6:11 p.m.: Gilmore and Brown getting into it at the end of that last play.
6:09 p.m.: A 32-yard pickup from Roethlisberger to Washington comes at the expense of Jason McCourty. That's followed up a couple of plays later with a 24-yarder to Washington, also with Jason McCourty in coverage.
6:04 p.m.: Pats are now 1-for-6 on third down. Another drop for New England. No catches so far for Gronkowski.
6:00 p.m.: Michel gets the drive started in the third quarter with a 13-yard pickup.
5:48 p.m.: So you take the knee here?
5:42 p.m.: Really nice play there by Patterson if he managed to keep his feet about him. Would be second straight third-down pickup. (Or maybe not.)
5:40 p.m.: Cannon and Brown have had some issues here in the early going. Granted, the Steelers have really good edge defenders, but this hasn't been their best day.
5:34 p.m.: Pats can try that double-score wraparound deal if they get one here before the end of the half. They'll get the ball to start the second half.
5:27 p.m.: Pats are 0-for-3 on third down with 5:20 left in the second quarter.
5:25 p.m.: Nothing so far for Gronkowski on the scoresheet with 6:01 left in the first half. Seeing multiple coverages so far. Just missed out on one on that last drive. But he's been quiet so far.
5:25 p.m.: You could see that coming... the way the pressure started to build on Roethlisberger, the scramble, Harmon's angles, coverage from J.C. Jackson. Ends in a pick. Nicely executed play there by the Patriots. Good team defense.
5:21 p.m.: Steelers starting to feel it a bit here with those two big plays to get out of that hole.
5:19 p.m.: Ruling stands. First and 10 at the 1.
"In #NEvsPIT, the ruling on the field is neither NE player touched the goal line before touching the ball. Therefore, the ruling on the field of the ball being downed at the 1 yard line is correct." – AL pic.twitter.com/70rWfqMdjM
— NFL Officiating (@NFLOfficiating) December 16, 2018
Steelers doing a great job with match ups right now. Creating leverage issues. The Patriots answer has mostly been man free or man free robber. No pressure on Big Ben = problems. @GregABedard @BostonSportsBSJ @cpriceNFL
— Cory Bailey (@CoachCoryBailey) December 16, 2018
Patriots-Steelers thread
BRADY TO HOGAN, 63 YARD TOUCHDOWN!!! #GoPATS pic.twitter.com/CwC3RmusVs
— #NobodyDied (@ftbeard_17) December 16, 2018
Chris Hogan had 19.2 yards of separation from any defender when he caught that touchdown pass, making him the most wide-open receiver on a reception this season per the NFL's Next-Gen Stats. The Steelers just totally blew that coverage against a simple... https://t.co/QP4Wzwf0rW
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 16, 2018
If there are any Patriots fans/@BostonSportsBSJ members in town for the game, I'll be at the Starbucks at 808 Ridge Ave near the stadium with @cpriceNFL & @AdamRichins_com starting at Noon. Stop by and say hi.
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) December 16, 2018
