Steelers Offer The Latest Blueprint To Stopping New England's Offense: Don't Let Them Have The Ball

Scores in NFL games can be very misleading and look no further than Sunday's Patriots-Steelers game from Sunday afternoon to illustrate that gambler's truth.

Pittsburgh (6-2, 4-0 at home) won 25-17 at Heinz Field over New England (5-2, 2-2 on road) so at first glance, you think well it was a one-score game so it must have been close. Theoretically this was true since the Pats got the ball back down six points late in the fourth quarter.

Truthfully, without any timeouts and under the two-minute warning plus pinned way back in their territory, the Patriots had no chance. Mercifully, it ended soon after as the Steelers forced a fumble that went out the back of the end zone for a safety. This came after Bill Belichick chose to try an onside kick rather than pin the Steelers deep following the score which trimmed Pittsburgh's lead to 23-17.

Despite having insane results every week (see today: the winless Rams beating the Saints), every NFL expert loves to make conclusions after each game (as stupid as that tends to be) since ESPN's family of networks has a lot of programming slots to fill. Today's lesson: keep the ball away from Tom Brady (24 for 35, 198 yards, 2 TDs, O INTs) and New England's offense.

Even without a great running game (98 yards), the Steelers were able to own time of possession: 39:22 to 20:38. Rashard Mendenhall paced Pittsburgh with 70 yards on 13 carries while Kevin Faulk led New England with 32 yards on six carries (plus 5 catches, 20 yards) in his first game back in 13 months.

Ben Roethlisberger (36 for 50, 365 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) did his best Brady impression by spreading it around to nine different receivers. Heath Miller (7 catches, 85 yards), Mike Wallace (7 catches, 70 yards) and Emmanuel Sanders proved to be better than Rob Gronkowski (7 catches, 94 yards), Wes Welker (6 catches, 39 yards) and Deion Branch (4 catches, 36 yards) If Pittsburgh was a little better in the red zone (2 for 5), this one wouldn't have been so misleadingly close.

When passing around the blame pie for the Patriots, it's hard to say who's more responsible: the defense that couldn't get off the field or the offense that started each half with 3-and-outs? It's the boring answer but I'd say they're equally culpable. New England's defense actually did some nice things (5 sacks, 10 tackles for losses) but as usual, their secondary looked awful and the entire team tackled about as well as your local Pop Warner B team.

For whatever reason, the Pats abandoned the running game (43 total yards) pretty much right away and instead relied Gronk who was the only receiver who constantly got open and fought for extra yards after the catch. Pittsburgh shut down Welker and Branch save for 2-yard score from Branch.

The Steelers' first drive of the game foreshadowed the rest of the contest as they went 11 plays, 69 yards in 5:52. Roethlisberger hit Mewelde Moore for a 5-yard touchdown which was way too easy, 7-0 Steelers.

New England had the first of their aforementioned 3-and-outs before Pittsburgh closed out the first quarter with another lengthy drive. Vince Wilfork sacked Big Ben on 3rd-and-Goal from the 9 to limit the Steelers to a 33-yard kick by Shaun Suisham.

The Pats' next drive at least got into Pittsburgh territory but Lamar Woodley (2 sacks) ended it with a 14-yard sack on 3rd-and-15. Roethlisberger made one of his typical bonehead mistakes (residual effects from that motorcycle crash?) as he threw an easy interception to Gary Guyton three plays later.

Guyton returned it 17 yards to Pittsburgh's 8-yard line. After two plays, Brady hit Branch for a 2-yard TD and the Patriots were seemingly right back in it trailing 10-7.

Impressively, the Steelers weren't fazed and they went on another long drive: 10 plays, 76 yards, 5:39. Roethlisberger found Antonio Brown (9 catches, 67 yards) for a 7-yard touchdown. New England got some points on its abbreviated last drive of the half with a 46-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. Pittsburgh led 17-10 going into halftime.

By failing to score let alone pick up a few first downs to begin the second half, New England started to let this game get away from them. The Steelers had another decent drive (14 plays, 55 yards, 7:06) but they had to settle for a 21-yard field goal and a 20-10 lead.

The Patriots were moving the ball and seemingly getting into a rhythm but it stalled as they tried to pass on every down. Even worse, Gostkowski's 42-yard field goal went off the goalpost. Not making excuses because Gostkowski is one of the NFL's better kickers but Heinz Field has always famously been a hard place to kick.

Believe it or not, the Steelers had another long drive (11 plays, 69 yards, 5:54) but yet again, they had to take a 23-yard field rather than a touchdown that likely would have ended it early in the fourth quarter.

The teams traded punts before Brady and his receivers channeled their two minute drill against the Cowboys from two weeks ago. Aaron Hernandez caught a 1-yard TD to cut it to 23-17. A 3-and-out by the Pats' defense would have given the offense the ball back but they were gassed and they couldn't stop Isaac Redman on the 3rd-and-1 run that iced it.

New England had burned all of its timeouts and it was under two minutes when Big Ben curiously decided to drop back for passes on two straight plays. The Pats got the ball back but it was too late to do anything productive, game over.

The Buffalo Bills (5-2) shutout the Washington Redskins in Toronto earlier today meaning they lead the AFC East (by tiebreaker) even though they have the same record as New England. The New York Jets (4-3) were idle and the Suck for Luck Dolphins (0-7) continued to do what they do.

Next Sunday, the New York Giants (5-2) visit Gillette Stadium for a rematch of Super Bowl 42. The G-Men are always one of the tougher teams to predict since in some weeks Eli Manning looks good and their defensive line is one of if not the best in the league. Then other times, they almost lose to Miami (today) and appear to be their own worst enemy.

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Cowboys Fall To The Patriots And It's Not Even Tony Romo's Fault

I will be the first to admit that in the past week, I never once was scared of the Dallas Cowboys or particularly their bipolar quarterback Tony Romo.

I'm not enough of a honk to say I could never imagine Dallas beating New England but can we all admit that the Cowboys are the NFL equivalent of Notre Dame football? Just a completely delusional team and fanbase that think they're championship bound every season.

The Patriots (5-1) had to sweat it out at Gillette Stadium this afternoon against the Cowboys (2-3) but as usual Tom Brady (27 of 41, 289 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs) came through with a two-minute drive to clinch it, 20-16 thanks to an 8-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Hernandez (8 catches, 68 yards) with 22 seconds remaining.

With its third straight victory, New England has now won 20 straight regular season home games while Brady and Bill Belichick tied Dan Marino/Don Shula's NFL record of 116 wins for a QB/coach combo.

Rob Gronkowski (7 catches, 74 yards), Deion Branch (3 catches, 69 yards) and Wes Welker (6 catches, 45 yards) made up for a lackluster running game (101 total yards) that had performed very well the last two weeks.

Ironically, Romo (27 of 41, 317 yards, TD, INT) makes a living of blowing all varieties of games in every way possible but this time, you couldn't really blame Jessica Simpson's ex. Wide receivers Dez Bryant (4 catches, 78 yards) and Miles Austin (7 catches, 74 yards) along with tight end Jason Witten (4 catches, 48 yards) are a formidable trio of weapons in the Cowboys passing game.

I mean if you want to get specific, the Dallas offensive coordinator and head coach Jason Garrett are most to blame as they got the ball back (up 16-13) at their own 28 with 3:36 left in the fourth quarter but they proceeded to run three safe and predictable runs. They knew Romo's late game problems so they basically took it out of his hands; I can't say I blame them but giving Brady the ball at his own 20 with 2:31 left is a recipe for disaster.

Penalty problems didn't help the Cowboys either as they were flagged 10 times for 77 yards. The Patriots only were called for five penalties totaling 35 yards.

Nevermind that New England's offense was sloppy all day (2 interceptions and a fumble, plus a fumbled kickoff), when they had to produce they did: 10 plays, 80 yards and not enough time for Dallas to do anything but have Romo end the game by throwing a hail mary out of bounds (short of the end zone).

The Cowboys defense came in with a good reputation, thanks to new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan (Rex's brother). It's way too easy to make fun of the Ryans but you have to admit that they know how to coach defense, especially against Belichick. Rob's Browns team last season was the last one before today's effort that held the Patriots under 30 points.

Dallas cornerback Terence Newman had an interception and a fumble recovery while linebacker Sean Lee had 12 tackles, six solo and an interception. Safety Gerald Sensabaugh added a fumble recovery on special teams.

The Patriots much-maligned defense earned some praise with this effort since they showed that they can survive a non-perfect outing from Brady and the offense (unlike Week 3's meltdown in Buffalo). Kyle Arrington (11 tackles, 7 solo) made his fourth interception of the season while Gerard Warren recovered a fumble. Hell, Andre Carter (5 tackles, 4 solo) even provided a semblance of a pass rush with two sacks.

You had to think Romo was in for a long day when he threw a bad interception on the first Dallas drive. New England brought it to the red zone but DeMarcus Ware (5 tackles, 2 sacks) sacked Brady on third down so the Pats had to settle for a 31-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.

The Patriots forced a punt on Dallas' next drive but Brady gave it right back as his pass intended for Branch was picked off by Newman. New England's defense was faced with a short field (at their own 23) but they pushed the Cowboys back as they had to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Dan Bailey.

On the ensuing kickoff, Matthew Slater fumbled. Luckily, Tashard Choice fumbled it right back to the Pats five plays later as the teams were tied 3-3 after one quarter.

New England's first drive of the second quarter stalled again in the red zone as Gostkowski hit a 26-yard field goal. After forcing a Dallas punt, the Patriots got the ball back and made it 13-3 with Brady's 5-yard touchdown pass to Welker. On the field he was ruled out but it was clear that was the wrong call so Belichick challenged it and it was reversed.

Romo answered with his best drive of the game, finding his boy Witten for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds left in the half.

New England got the ball first to start the second half but they couldn't do much so they punted to Dallas.

Romo got the Cowboys down to the 7-yard line but Carter's 11-yard sack on second down forced Dallas to get more conservative (foreshadowing!) as Choice took a dump pass to the 4-yard line. Bailey tied it with a 22-yard field goal.

A 12-play drive seemed promising for Brady and Co. but they were forced to punt yet again. However, Dallas bailed them out by running into Zoltan Mesko. Four plays later, Hernandez fumbled after a hit by Bradie James.

The Cowboys couldn't take advantage of that as they eventually punted on the ensuing drive. The Patriots weren't content with three turnovers as Lee picked off Brady in Dallas territory.

The red zone proved to be a major issue as Dallas couldn't punch it in again. A shovel pass (really?) to Choice on 3rd-and-Goal from the 5-yard line shockingly enough didn't work. Pats linebacker Brandon Spikes (8 tackles, 6 solo) made the play in what was one of his best performances as a pro. Bailey's 26-yard field goal still put the Cowboys up 16-13 and in position to pull off a major upset.

New England went three-and-out on their next possession but no worries since Dallas wouldn't dare let Romo throw the ball no matter what.

You always want a bye week later in the season when injuries have really mounted but at 5-1 and sitting in first place in the AFC East, I can't complain too much about the Patriots having next week off. Their next game is Sunday, October 30 at Pittsburgh and who knows, maybe Jerod Mayo will be back by then. The Steelers are always one of the AFC's top teams but in the last decade, I feel like the Patriots usually find a way to beat them home or away.

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Patriots Take Care Of The Jets, 30-21

When you live in or around a place that has four pro sports teams (that are all usually playoff-bound), sometimes games don't get the proper hype or buildup that they deserve.

I'll admit that for once, the New England Patriots-New York Jets game that occurred this afternoon at Gillette Stadium wasn't filled with the usual garbage during the week but after watching the Pats (4-1) hold off the Jets (2-3) 31-20, I'm also going to say that I don't really care and it was refreshing not to hear Rex Ryan and Co. have verbal diarrhea over and over again.

Due to the Red Sox' upheaval and the Bruins' first couple games of the new season, this contest somehow was on the backburner until it snuck right up on this Columbus Day weekend. The result was very satisfying, especially since the New England defense and running game were the units that made the most contributions to the win. However, call me back when the Pats can do this in New Jersey (Sun. Nov. 13) in the rematch or more importantly, in the playoffs.

The Jets are currently a mess so the fact that Bill Belichick moved to 3-3 in his last six games against Ryan wasn't as sweet as it would normally seem. New York's defense can only take it so far. Quarterback Mark Sanchez (16 for 26, 166 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) still can't carry the offense and the running game is usually non-existent although Shonn Greene (21 carries, 83 yards, TD) came out of hiding today to have a nice performance.

The last two games, rookie running back Stevan Ridley had pushed for more playing time and more touches. I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise that he was completely shut down by the Jets' physical defense. Ridley carried the ball seven times for 13 yards. Luckily, BenJarvus Green-Ellis picked the right time to have a career day as he rushed for a career-high 136 yards on 27 carries with two touchdowns.

Pats quarterback Tom Brady (24 for 33, 321 yards, TD, INT) had another nice day thanks to New England's relentless no-huddle attack. However, New York's pressure (four sacks) coupled with a bad break (Aaron Hernandez dropped a sure touchdown right before halftime) meant that Brady's numbers weren't as smooth as flawless as they should have been.

Wes Welker (5 catches, 124 yards) and Deion Branch (7 catches, 74 yards) were the best wide receivers on the field, proving that contrary to popular belief Jets All-World cornerback Darrelle Revis can only cover one guy at a time, not five or six. One of my favorite parts of the win was when CBS announcer Phil Simms had just gotten done with about his tenth tongue bath of Revis when Welker caught a 73-yard bomb on him to start the second half. Truth be told, it wasn't really Revis' fault since the safety blew the coverage (zone) but still, sometimes it's nice to be reminded that as good as Revis is, he's human.

Santonio Holmes (4 catches, 60 yards, TD) and Plaxico Burress (3 catches, 42 yards) were relatively quiet but that was nothing compared to tight end Dustin Keller (1 catch, 7 yards) who didn't do anything for the Jets in their third straight loss.

New York didn't record a first down until the second quarter and New England took advantage as BJGE had a 3-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter (Stephen Gostkowski PAT) for a 7-0 Patriots lead.

Gostkowski's 44-yard field goal made it 10-0 early in the second quarter but Greene answered with a 3-yard touchdown run of his own late in the first half. As mentioned before, the Pats left points on the board as Hernandez (5 catches, 56 yards) bobbled an easy catch right to Jets cornerback/father of the year Antonio Cromartie.

Branch's 2-yard touchdown catch to start the second half gave New England some breathing room (17-7) but Sanchez and rookie wide receiver Jeremy Kerley responded with a 9-yard strike.

Green-Ellis did everything on a late third quarter drive, including his second 3-yard touchdown run. It felt like New England would put it away with another touchdown to start the fourth quarter but Gostkowski had to settle for a 24-yard field goal (27-14).

Yet again, Sanchez made some plays when he had to as he found Holmes for a pretty 21-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Thanks to New England's determined running game, they were basically able to keep the ball away from the Jets and Gostkowski ended the comeback attempt with a 28-yard kick.

This was the 13th straight time that New England has scored 30+ points, that's only one behind the NFL record set by the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf (1999-2000).

New England will try to win its third consecutive game next Sunday afternoon as they host the Dallas Cowboys (2-2). Not to underestimate Tony Romo and his teammates but they're exactly the type of squad that the Patriots almost always defeat. You can count on Romo to make a couple outrageous mistakes and I'd be shocked if Dallas' defense (coached by Rob Ryan) can do much to stop Brady and this prolific offense.

The Buffalo Bills (4-1) won again today, beating the Eagles, so they're tied atop the AFC East with the Patriots and they hold the tiebreaker. New York is in third place and Miami (0-4) had a bye week so at least they can say they didn't lose today.

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Another Season, Another Bunch Of New Records Already For The Patriots

There are very few things you can count on in life like the greatness of Tom Brady.

Sure it makes you sound like a Patriots honk but sometimes you just have to sit back and say "wow, I'm damn lucky to have seen this guy play in his prime."

The 2011 season started for Brady and the New England Patriots tonight at Sun Life Stadium against the Miami Dolphins and it was a memorable one. Brady set a Monday Night Football and franchise record with 517 yards passing (32 for 48, 4 TDs, 1 INT) as the Pats pulled away in the second half for a 38-24 win.

Miami (0-1) hung around for a while as quarterback Chad Henne (30 for 49, 416 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 59 yards rushing) had the best game of his career. Typical to being Chad Henne, it still wasn't good enough although to be fair, it was mostly his defense's fault.

In a lot of ways, this was the perfect opener for Bill Belichick. The Patriots (1-0) went on the road and picked up a divisional win against a team that usually gives them problems at home. New England's offense was almost flawless but on the other side of the ball, their defense was way too vulnerable to a pretty average Dolphins offense.

No surprise, with the fifth-most passing yards in NFL history, a bunch of Patriots receivers had monster games. Wes Welker led the way with eight catches for 160 yards, Aaron Hernandez had seven catches for 103 yards, Deion Branch had seven catches for 93 yards and Rob Gronkowski had seven catches for 86 yards. Things were so silly that Matthew Slater made his first NFL catch and it was for 46 yards!

It was interesting to note that Branch still appears to be Brady's most reliable guy not named Welker in the receiving corps. Chad Ochocinco had a very quiet Patriots debut, he only had one catch for 14 yards. He needs to pick it up as the season progresses.

Brandon Marshall led the Dolphins with seven catches for 139 yards. Davone Bess had five catches for 92 yards and Anthony Fasano added five catches for 82 yards.

What will probably go down as the highlight of Miami's season was their very first drive of 2011. They held the ball for over seven minutes and Henne scored on a 9-yard quarterback draw (has to be the first of his life). Typical of the Dolphins after a big celebration, it was all downhill from there.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis and New England answered on their first drive as they went right down the field and the Law Firm punched it in with a 4-yard run.

It was tied at 7 after the first quarter and the Patriots went ahead 14-7 with the only touchdown of the second quarter: a 10-yard pass from Brady to Gronk.

On the first drive of the second half, Dolphins defensive end Jared Odrick intercepted a deflected pass by Brady (intended for Julian Edelman on a bubble screen) and returned it 39 yards into the red zone. To Miami's credit, they tied it up at 14 as Brian Hartline hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Henne. That's when New England seemed to pick up the intensity a notch. Welker scored his first touchdown of the game (a 2-yard grab) to give them a 21-14 lead.

For once, the Pats' defense stepped up and held the Dolphins to a 20-yard field goal by Dan Carpenter (cutting it to 21-17) in a subsequent red zone chance.

By that time, Brady's no-huddle attack had the Dolphins completely warn out. They couldn't catch their breath and as a result, they couldn't stop anything that Brady and Co. did. After getting stopped at the 1-yard line following a 30-yard catch and run, Hernandez got another crack at it as Brady went right back to him on the next play for a 1-yard touchdown pass. New England led 28-17 after three quarters.

Stephen Gostkowski missed a 48-yard kick (his first attempt of the season) at the end of the first half but he atoned for it with a 20-yard kick early in the fourth quarter. The highlight of the contest by far was New England's last score: a 99-yard bomb from Brady to Welker. Brady was in the shotgun (in the end zone) when he took the snap and Welker had one-on-one coverage. After throwing it, Miami's safety on that side took a bad angle and whiffed (hi Big Bang Clock), that allowed Welker to catch it and all he needed was one minor stiff arm to create separation.

For fantasy football fans, Reggie Bush (56 yards receiving, 38 yards rushing) made sure his night wasn't completely forgettable as he tacked on a 2-yard touchdown catch in garbage time. Danny Woodhead led the Pats with 14 carries for 69 yards.

Kyle Arrington picked off Henne on the last play of the game, a fitting reminder that this was still Henne. Devin McCourty (11 tackles, 10 solo, 1 tackle for loss, 2 passes deflected) had a busy night since he was matched up with Marshall. Patrick Chung (9 tackles), Mark Anderson and Andre Carter all recorded sacks while Myron Pryor and Vince Wilfork shared one. New England will need to get much more pressure when the games are still close.

The one major injury (that we know of so far) for New England is center Dan Koppen went down with an ankle injury in the first half. He was on crutches on the sidelines and based on the look of the play, I'm saying he has a broken ankle. Dan Connolly played center with Koppen out; he did a fine job but that's something to worry about moving forward since Koppen is one of the NFL's best.

The Patriots come home to face the San Diego Chargers (1-0) on Sunday (4:15 p.m.) at Gillette Stadium. My best guess is that it will be a shootout since Philip Rivers and the Chargers can put up points with the best of them. Let's see what changes Belichick and his assistant coaches can implement to this leaky defense; the offense already appears to be in midseason form.

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