The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers are the two most successful organizations in modern NFL history, with both winning a record six Super Bowls. Naturally, they also have quite a deep history with one another: Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium will be their 37th overall meeting.
Let’s take a look back at the series thus far — one that started out favoring the Steelers but since the turn of the century has become dominated by the Patriots, the most recent result notwithstanding: New England
has a 14-5 record over its AFC rivals dating back to the 2001 season. While last year’s 21-14 loss means Pittsburgh is carrying some theoretical momentum into Foxborough, the overall narrative doesn’t change because of it.
Patriots vs. Steelers series history
Overall history: The Patriots are entering Week 2 with a 19-17 advantage over the Steelers. While Pittsburgh has fared better in the regular season, winning 16 of 31 contests, New England has a clear edge in the playoffs: in five postseason meetings, the Patriots emerged victoriously four times. They won a 1996 AFC divisional game (28-3) as well as three AFC Championships in 2001 (24-17), 2004 (41-27) and 2016 (36-17). The Steelers’ lone playoff victory against the Patriots took place in 1997 (7-6). Playing at home, the Patriots are 7-5 all-time and 6-2 at Gillette Stadium.
First game: The first game between the Patriots and Steelers was — just like the early portion of the rivalry as a whole — a lopsided affair. Hosting New England at Three Rivers Stadium in Week 6 of the 1972 season, Pittsburgh celebrated a 33-3 victory that remains its most dominant to this date. The Steelers set the tone from the first quarter on, returning one of Jim Plunkett’s two interceptions 32 yards for a touchdown. Overall, Plunkett and company turned the ball over four times and surrendered seven sacks. A 16-yard Charlie Gogoloak field goal in the third quarter prevented a shutout. The Patriots ended up going 3-11 that season, the Steelers 11-3 with a loss in the AFC title game. | Highlights
Most memorable game: Legend has it that the Patriots saw the Steelers’ luggage already ready to be shipped to the Super Bowl ahead of the 2001 AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, and that that gave the eventual world champions all the motivation needed to manufacture an upset over the 10-point favorites. Whether or not the story happened like that can be debated, but fact is the Patriots managed to silence the Heinz Field crowd despite losing Tom Brady to an early ankle injury. Drew Bledsoe threw a touchdown to David Patten just before the half, but the star of the show was Troy Brown. Not only did he open the scoring with a 55-yard punt return touchdown, he also recovered the loose football after a blocked field goal and lateraled it back to Antwan Harris for a 49-yard return touchdown. In total, the Patriots registered four takeaways en route to a 24-17 victory. | Highlights
Most recent game: After splitting their first two games of the Mike Vrabel era, the Patriots hosted the Steelers in Week 3 of the 2025 season. It was a sloppy affair for the home team. Drake Maye, who was sacked five times, threw an interception and lost a fumble. Rhamondre Stevenson turned the ball over twice as well, with Antonio Gibson also fumbling one possession away. A Robert Spillane interception on the other side could not turn the tide, and neither could Maye connecting with Hunter Henry on a game-tying touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter. The young QB turned the ball over on the next drive, allowing Pittsburgh to score a TD and secure a 21-14 win. | Highlights
The Patriots will welcome the Steelers to Gillette Stadium on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. It will be the reigning AFC champions’ first home game of the season, and a chance to rebound after starting the year with a 13-10 loss in Seattle. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, opened its 2026 campaign with a 20-13 victory over the Falcons.
