There was a chance to clear the air at Gillette Stadium.
The New England Patriots saw it through to defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 20-3 in Sunday’s home opener.
Here’s a glance back on the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as head coach Mike Vrabel’s side moves further into September at 1-1.
Maye throws fourth interception of season
What transpired at Lumen Field against the Super Bowl LX champions could not carry over in Foxborough. A week removed from throwing three interceptions in three drives to fall to the Seattle Seahawks, Drake Maye needed
to be aggressive and not reckless. He fell somewhere in the middle on a rainy Sunday.
The 24-year-old Patriots quarterback completed 14-of-22 passes for 208 yards with no touchdowns and one pick.
Taking the field in “12” personnel, New England’s offense got the afternoon underway with a turnover that the QB was not responsible for. That collapsed an opening drive that featured a 29-yard sail route to fellow captain Hunter Henry. The next series brought a 7-0 lead on the ground, however. And then it was back to the air with a 30-yard connection to rookie tight end Eli Raridon, who later suffered a thigh injury, through defensive pass interference that got things to the red zone.
New England’s punt unit did not need to take the field until the final two possessions of the first half. By intermission, the score read 10-3 while Maye had gone just 7-of-9 passing for 89 yards and the offense had gone 2-of-5 on third down.
Out of intermission, where things had melted down in the season opener, Maye went from a 29-yard completion to an underthrown interception by linebacker Patrick Queen on consecutive plays. The next opportunity gave way to a missed field goal.
But a 63-yard strike set the Patriots up for a 13-3 lead that would lengthen with complementary football.
Down No. 1, Doubs stretches the field for 96 yards
A high ankle sprain sent A.J. Brown to injured reserve after September began in the loss column. But Sunday provided a snapshot for how New England’s wide receiver room can go forward without No. 1.
With Romeo Doubs going forward, too.
After a debut to forget, the March signing caught three passes on four targets for a team-high 96 yards. He turned in a diving conversion of 29 yards on third down and followed it up with a field-stretcher worth 63 yards for longest play of New England’s young season.
Versus a secondary missing Joey Porter Jr., the rest of New England’s wideouts combined to finish with five receptions for 35 yards on. DeMario Douglas also drew the start while Mack Hollins, Kyle Williams and Efton Chism III, who had been healthy scratch last week, rounded out the depth chart.
Stevenson’s fumble sets up Henderson’s breakaway touchdown
The keys were in Rhamondre Stevenson’s hands. But New England’s downhill running back lost his 10th career fumble with the help of linebackers Nick Herbig and Payton Wilson on Sunday’s opening drive. It was just his second touch and a flashback to Pittsburgh’s 2025 visit to Gillette Stadium.
The starter went on to handle 46 scrimmage yards across seven chances, led by an angry A-gap pickup of 24.
An ankle injury that lingered since August didn’t linger into Sunday, though. TreVeyon Henderson was on the field by the second series. The No. 38 overall pick last year’s draft class showed second effort to move the chains on third down and soon showed the breakaway speed, too, rushing for a 39-yard touchdown up the middle through sea of Steelers.
Henderson finished Sunday with 76 rushing yards and the score through 16 handoffs.
Onwenu carted off as Steelers close in
Two sacks had been allowed by the Patriots in the season opener. Both of those takedowns surfaced during the final quarter in the Pacific Northwest on a night that saw the offensive line charged with one false start, one illegal block in the back and one holding penalty.
The competitive stamina would be put to the test against the Steelers’ rising blitz rate.
There stood Will Campbell at left tackle, Alijah Vera-Tucker at left guard, Jared Wilson at center and captain Morgan Moses pulling the way to paydirt at right tackle. But the right guard spot lost its anchor as Pittsburgh got in the sack column with 1:08 remaining in the first quarter.
Mike Onwenu had his ankle rolled up from behind by perennial NFL Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt while engaged in pass protection. The 92-game starter with north of 5,600 offensive snaps to his name was carted to the locker room and quickly ruled out.
August signing Greg Van Roten took over at right guard on an afternoon that saw the visitors tally three official sacks. All three took place before halftime. And Maye held on as time expired in the pocket on the last.
Rodgers held out of the end zone with 187 passing yards
Aaron Rodgers first faced the Patriots during the 2006 campaign. Time did not turn back on Sunday.
The Steelers quarterback went 23-of-39 passing for 187 yards with no touchdowns and two turnovers during the visit to Foxborough.
There would be no Michael Pittman Jr. out wide for him due to a foot injury. But there would be two straight three-and-outs to begin the matinee. And the first completion did not find the gamebook until tight end Pat Freiermuth was found in the flat versus Christian Gonzalez on the third drive.
Pittsburgh’s stagnant offense began 2-of-8 on third down and went into halftime averaging 3.4 yards per play on the heels of a 56-yard field goal. The red zone was not visited until 5:46 was left in regulation.
The Patriots kicked things off in the base defense with captain Marcus Jones alongside the extended All-Pro cornerback. Charles Woods stepped on in the nickel package with Carlton Davis III downgraded to out after missing three consecutive practices with a neck issue. Pick-collecting safety Kevin Byard III joined them in the starting secondary while respective ankle and shoulder injuries sidelined Craig Woodson and Dell Pettus.
Pittsburgh’s receivers would be paced by rookie Germie Bernard’s 35 yards on eight targets. Past Pro Bowler DK Metcalf, who was shadowed by No. 0 both on the perimeter and in the slot, had a hand in 27 yards and a key drop across nine targets.
Four sacks and then some for New England’s front
Bringing down a 42-year-old with a quick trigger was the task. The Patriots were up for it.
Inside linebacker Christian Elliss teed off for the defense’s first sack with 8:05 to go before halftime on a blitz. It was felt on a drive that spanned a dozen snaps. It turned a third-and-7 on the doorstep of the red zone into a loss of 36 yards as the Steelers sputtered and recovered.
There was more where that came from. Christian Barmore, who started along the interior next to Milton Williams and Cory Durden, broke into the backfield for a forced fumble on second-and-21. Outside linebacker Elijah Ponder cleaned up what the defensive tackle created. The 2025 undrafted addition out of Cal Poly took the turnover back 19 yards for a touchdown and a 20-3 advantage in the final quarter. He’d get in the sack column next time out. And defensive lineman Joshua Farmer also had a hand in New England racking up four sacks.
But a veteran edge exited in the midst of Sunday, as Dre’Mont Jones was downgraded to out with a shoulder injury that sent No. 50 overall pick Gabe Jacas on in his place. The Illinois product corralled his first NFL interception a week after corralling his first NFL sack. That’d be the last snap for Pittsburgh’s quarterback.
Behind Rodgers, the Steelers’ committee of running backs managed 81 rushing yards over the course of 20 handoffs.
Borregales goes 2-of-3 from range
With incumbent Bryce Baringer on injured reserve, the punting and holding duties were again up to a veteran who signed to New England’s practice squad at its formation.
Mitch Wishnowsky averaged 46.3 yards per punt on Sunday and had one effort downed inside the opposing 20-yard line. The back-to-back standard elevation delivered a long of 54 yards while working in tandem with a pair of 2025 draft picks.
Patriots kicker Andy Borregales went 2-of-3 on field goals and 2-of-2 on extra points as part of the operation with long snapper Julian Ashby. He converted from 30 yards away in the second quarter, missed wide right from 47 yards away in the third quarter, then got back through the uprights from 45 yards away on the following series against Pittsburgh.
