Four Ups, Four Downs From Patriots' Week 1 Win Over Steelers
FOXBORO (CBS) -- It was very much a true football scene on Thursday night, as two classic AFC teams squared off on a rainy night at Gillette Stadium.
The final score -- a 28-21 Patriots victory over the Steelers -- indicated a tight contest, but it was one the Patriots mostly had under control for the bulk of the fourth quarter.
It was far from a perfect performance from the home team, but in Week 1, it was good enough to win.
Here are the ups and the downs from the season-opening victory.
FOUR UPS
Tom Brady
Fresh off beating the NFL in court and having his four-game suspension wiped out entirely, Tom Brady was on point.
The quarterback put together a string of 19 consecutive completions, finishing the night 25-for-32 for 288 yards and four touchdowns. He was, quite clearly, fired up to be in the building, and he made the most of his opportunity.
Rob Gronkowski
Perhaps the biggest factor in Brady having a great night was the presence of the most unstoppable tight end in football, Rob Gronkowski.
After claiming to have some inside knowledge of how to stop Gronkowski, the Steelers looked helpless in defending the tight end all night long. Gronkowski caught just five passes, but he got his money's worth, scoring three touchdowns. He also found himself in a mismatch in a fourth quarter drive, with Bud Dupree covering him in the slot, and Gronkowski turned it into an impressive 52-yard catch-and-run.
It was Gronkowski's fourth three-touchdown game in his career, tying him with Randy Moss for most all time in Patriots history.
Dion Lewis (With A Caveat)
A fifth-round draft pick in 2011, Dion Lewis entered Thursday's game with 192 yards from scrimmage in his career. He exited with 120 more.
With LeGarrette Blount serving his one-game suspension, Lewis carried the load in the Patriots backfield. He rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries, and he hauled in four passes for 51 yards as well.
After an impressive summer, Lewis was able to carry that momentum into the regular season, and he'll likely see regular action going forward as a result.
However, there is one caveat. When fighting for extra yards inside the 5-yard line, Lewis fumbled. Gronkowski recovered at the goal line, so it didn't end up hurting the Patriots, and it was a wet night, where fumbles are bound to happen. But no coach in the NFL values ball security more than Bill Belichick, so that mistake is certain to come up a time or two (or 200) in film review this week.
David Andrews/Shaq Mason/Tre Jackson/Josh Kline
When Ryan Wendell was announced as a bit of a surprise member of the inactive list, the prospects of the interior offensive line did not look great. With Bryan Stork already out, Wendell's absence meant the team would need rookies Shaq Mason, Tre Jackson and David Andrews to perform, and they'd also likely need help from Josh Kline.
The team did need those performances, and that group came through.
Brady was sacked twice, though both times, pressure came from the outside. And while the offensive line wasn't perfect, it was certainly a much prettier picture than what Brady had in front of him for the first month of last season.
FOUR DOWNS
Dominique Easley
It was impossible to not feel terribly for the kid when he remained down on the field for several minutes in the opening drive of the game. He saw very limited action as a rookie last year in working his way back from a torn knee suffered in his final year at Florida, but he looked ready to be a key contributor on the defensive line this year.
While the diagnosis of his injury has yet to be reported (the Patriots called it a hip injury during the game), the injury did not look very good on replay.
Malcolm Butler (With A Caveat)
Just like Lewis' praise with a caveat, Butler lands on the downs list ... with an explanation.
Butler, considered the Patriots' No. 1 corner, had himself a whole lot of trouble with Antonio Brown all night long. Ben Roethlisberger completed nine of 10 passes to Brown when Butler was in coverage, gaining 133 yards and scoring a touchdown in the game's final seconds.
It was not a great showing by Butler ... however, there are very few receivers in the NFL better than Antonio Brown. So while it wasn't the best first step of the season for the second-year corner/reigning Super Bowl saver, the numbers may not necessarily be indicative of what's to come.
Bradley Fletcher
The most important play of the game came with 19 seconds left in the first half. Bradley Fletcher left Darrius Heyward-Bey all alone in the end zone, allowing the Steelers to score should have been a touchdown to cut the Patriots' lead to seven points before halftime.
Fortunately for the Patriots' sake, Heyward-Bey lost track of his feet and put himself out of bounds before making the catch, in the process bailing out the Pats' newcomer at corner for a breakdown that could have proved costly.
Rush Defense
Stopping the run requires a team effort, and with Vince Wilfork wearing overalls down in Houston, the Patriots are going to need to collectively do a better job than what they did on Thursday night.
With Le'Veon Bell serving his suspension, DeAngelo Williams carved up the Patriots' defense for 127 yards on 21 carries. It was the 32-year-old's highest rushing total in a game since December of 2012.
Fullback Will Johnson also plunged in from the goal line for a touchdown.
Giving the Steelers the opportunity to run the ball may have been in the Patriots' game plan, but there's no way the team would ever intend to give that kind of running room to Williams so many times. And with LeSean McCoy and the Bills up next on the schedule, the Patriots have their work cut out for them on defense.
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