New England Patriots 31 - Pittsburgh Steelers 7
The 5-1 New England Patriots visited the 6-0 Pittsburgh Steelers in what promised to be a clash of the titans, but ended up as more of a stomping. The Patriots' D, which has been dominant this season, again showed some of the vulnerability against the run they displayed early in the year, giving up 178 yards on the ground. But their pass D was suffocating, allowing only 21 yards through the air while getting two picks. The Pats were more balanced, going 198 yards through the air and 122 yards on the ground.
Tom Brady had his best game of the season (and first clean INT column), going 12-15 for 198 yards and 2 TDs.
Big Ben was not so fortunate, going 3-9 for 27 yards, no TDs, and 2 picks.
Adrian Peterson was strong in his Patriots' debut, rushing 14 times for 110 yards and 2 scores (though he did cough up a goal line fumble which the Pats were fortunate to recover). Law Firm got 8 carries as well, mostly near the end of the game. He did get stuffed 3 straight times on the goal line near the end.
Rashard Mendenhall had a humongous game, rushing 18 times for 185 yards and the Steelers' lone TD.
Ochocinco had 1 catch, which went for a 63 yard TD. Gronk scored the other through the air.
The Steelers' receivers were obviously non-factors. Both Mike Wallace and Heath Miller had only one catch each, for 2 and 3 yards respectively, and were the targets on both of Big Ben's picks (one by Bodden, the other by Arrington).
Andre Carter also blocked a FG on the Steelers' first drive, which was huge in terms of establishing the tone of the game.
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gg Zurezo! I knew it would be a good one and I was reasonably confident, but I had no expectation of it going like this. I couldn't stop Mendenhall all day, but thankfully I was able to keep him enough in check that he only found the endzone once. Like you said, your lack of a passing attack killed you in this one.