Patriots-Steelers Live Blog: Pats Win 27-16 To Improve To 6-1
BOSTON (CBS) -- Follow for all the updates in Sunday's Patriots-Steelers matchup in Pittsburgh.
Final -- Patriots 27, Steelers 16
It wasn't as easy as people expected, but the Patriots beat the Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers 27-16 to improve to 6-1 on the season.
Brady finished 19-for-26 for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns while LeGarrette Blount carried the load against his former team with 127 rushing yards and two scores.
We'll be breaking this one down all night, so stick with CBSBoston.com for plenty of reaction and analysis. You can also catch Patriots 5th Quarter over on myTV38, and tune in to three hours of postgame coverage on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
4th Quarter, 00:12: That'll do it, as Jones couldn't hook up with Heyward-Bey on 4th-and-11.
4th Quarter, 1:06: The Steelers face a 2nd-and-20 after an offensive pass interference by Sammie Coates.
4th Quarter, 1:25: Jones hits Bell for six yards on 4th-and-2, essentially padding fantasy stats for Le'Veon Bell owners.
4th Quarter, 2:00: Jones hits Grimble for nine yards on 3rd-and-2 to keep the drive alive for Pittsburgh as we hit the 2-minute warning.
4th Quarter, 3:02: Another short kick from Ryan, as the Steelers will take over at their own 26.
4th Quarter, 3:37: Blount carried the ball three times, and picked up 9.5 yards. So Ryan Allen is trotting out to punt this away with time winding down.
4th Quarter, 5:30: The Pats D forces another punt, as Butler continues with his strong coverage against Antonio Brown.
A holding penalty by the Steelers on first down didn't help their cause, but Jones could only pick up seven yards on a pass to Brown on 2nd-and-20, and then Butler kept Brown from running any kind of route on 3rd-and-13 to force the punt.
The Steelers blew another timeout on the drive as well, and now have just one left in the game. The Pats will have the ball at their own 37 after a six-yard punt return by Amendola.
4th Quarter, 6:57: A holding call on David Andrews on first down derailed that drive for New England. It set up a 1st-and-20, and after a pair of Blount runs picked up nine yards, Brady went deep to no one on third down to set up another Ryan Allen punt.
His 57-yard boot went into the end zone for a touchback.
4th Quarter, 9:00: The Edelman fumble doesn't hurt, as the Pats will take over at their own 44 after a 54-yard miss by Boswell. Interesting that the Steelers didn't go for it on 4th-and-2. Did Mike Tomlin forget he has a pretty talented running back that the Patriots have had trouble tackling today?
Pittsburgh picked up eight yards on a second down completion to Jesse James (who was brought down by a group effort by Collins and Chung), but Jones felt the pressure on third down and rushed a throw to Bell as he scrambled from the New England rush.
4th Quarter, 10:37: Well that's not what the Patriots wanted, as Julian Edelman fumbles the punt return after a short return. The ball was knocked out of his hands by Stephen Johnson, and the Steelers recover at the New England 43.
4th Quarter, 10:50: The Pats D forces a quick three-and-out, with Patrick Chung nearly picking off a Jones pass to Hamilton on first down.
4th Quarter, 11:44 -- Patriots 27, Steelers 16
That was a quick three minute drive by the Patriots, as Blount takes it in five yards for his second touchdown of the afternoon. Gostkowski's extra point was good, so the Pats are back up by 11.
The Pats needed just six plays to march 75 yards down the field, with Gronkowski accounting for 42 of those yards while Blount had 20.
Time for the Patriots D to come up with another stop.
4th Quarter, 11:48: Another big play from the Brady-Gronk connection, as the tight end streaks across the middle of the field and takes it 37 yards down to the Pittsburgh 5.
4th Quarter, 12:42: Brady goes to Gronk for another big conversion, as the tight end takes a short pass and turns it into seven yards to move the chains on 2nd-and-5.
4th Quarter, 14:49 -- Patriots 20, Steelers 16
The Pats D had a pair of big stops, but Boswell kicks a 44-yarder to pull the Steelers within four points.
4th Quarter, 15:00: Antonio Brown is back on the field for the Steelers.
End 3rd Quarter -- Patriots 20, Steelers 13
Another huge third down conversion for the Steelers, and it was the Jones-Hamilton (over Logan Ryan) connection again.
This time they pick up 17 yards down to the New England 24. Pittsburgh is 4-for-9 on third downs today.
3rd Quarter, 1:00: Brown is now making his way to the Steelers locker room. Bad news for Pittsburgh, but good news for a New England defense that is struggling at the moment.
Patrick Chung is back out there for the Pats D.
3rd Quarter, 3:13: The Pats just gave up a huge conversion on 3rd-and-10, with Jones hitting Hamilton for 15 yards in front of Logan Ryan. The Pats haven't been able to get much pressure on Jones today, and that extra time let him find a receiver to move the chains.
3rd Quarter, 4:34: Antonio Brown is getting looked at on the sideline, as it looked like he cramped up a bit. He's getting his leg stretched out on the sidelines, but just popped back up.
3rd Quarter, 6:19 -- Patriots 20, Steelers 13
When your offense needs to get going, trust in Rob Gronkowski.
LeGarrette Blount picked up 36 yards on the first two plays of the drive, and a few plays after a 25-yard scamper by Blount, Brady hit an open Gronk down the middle which turned into a 36-yard touchdown. Gronk now has eight career touchdown against the Steelers. It was also his 68th career touchdown reception, tying Stanley Morgan for the most in Patriots history.
Gostkowski's struggles continue though, as he missed the extra point. That's two straight weeks he's missed an extra point.
3rd Quarter, 8:44 -- Patriots 14, Steelers 13
Pittsburgh is within a point as Boswell boots a 46-yarder.
It could have been worse, but Malcolm Butler jumped in front of Xavier Grimble on Jones' third down bid. Butler is having a strong day today, despite the struggles of the defense.
8;3rd Quarter, 9:54: Patrick Chung appears to be a bit banged up after hitting the ground hard while trying to tackle Bell.
3rd Quarter, 11:32: The Steelers are driving, with the ball in New England territory, but had to burn an early timeout as the play clock was nearly at zero.
Bell has 18 yards on two carries on this drive, with Brown picking up another 13 on a reverse. The Steelers have the ball at the New England 45 after just three plays.
3rd Quarter, 13:33: Bad start to the second half, as the offense goes backwards on their first drive.
Brady could only hit Bennett for five yards on 3rd-and-17. That's a quick three-and-out for the offense, who haven't looked right since Blount's touchdown run to put them on top 14-0.
Ryan Allen's punt went 43 yards to the Pittsburgh 34.
3rd Quarter, 14:30: Brady scrambled on second down, but was brought down by the blitzing Steelers defense after just three yards. Solder was called for another hold, but that was declined.
3rd Quarter, 14:48: Sloppy start to the half for the offense, as Nate Solder is called for a hold on 2nd down. That cost New England 10 yards and sets up a 2nd-and-20.
3rd Quarter, 15:00: Boswell's kick goes through the end zone, so the Pats will start at their own 25 to begin the second half.
Halftime -- Patriots 14, Steelers 10
Make it 10 unanswered for the Steelers, and the Pats have to feel a little lucky they still have a four-point edge heading into halftime. The Steelers had two different trips to the red zone end without points on the board, so it could be worse for New England. But the Pats offense has stalled a bit since LeGarrette Blount marched into the end zone early in the second quarter, and they'll need a quick start in the third quarter to put more pressure on Landry Jones and the Pittsburgh offense.
Brady finished the half going 13-for-18 for 123 yards and a touchdown. Blount has 53 yards off 12 carries, while Edelman leads the way with seven receptions for 46 yards. New England's tight end duo of Gronk and Bennett have been held in check, with just one catch between the two.
Jones has looked solid after being picked off by Butler in the end zone, and finished the half with 179 passing yards. Bell has 40 rush yards on 10 carries, adding another 43 yards on four receptions.
2nd Quarter, 00:02 -- Patriots 14, Steelers 10
Boswell is good from 32 yards out to get the Steelers a little bit closer before halftime.
2nd Quarter, 00:06: Jones went looking for Heyward-Bey in the end zone, but Malcolm Butler nearly picked it up, able to tap the ball away a few feet in front the receiver. It was a bad throw by Jones to a receiver who was not open, and nearly paid for the mistake.
Looks like the Steelers will have to settle for three points instead of tying this one up before the half.
2nd Quarter, 00:11: A quick 10-yard connection to Jesse James moves the Steelers a little closer to the end zone.
2nd Quarter, 00:15: The Pats had done well in keeping Bell in check, but he's starting to get into a groove. He just picked up 22 yards on a short connection with Jones, and the Steelers have the ball at the New England 24 as they burn their final timeout.
2nd Quarter, 00:25: A nine-yard connection to Heyward-Bey moves the chains for Pittsburgh on 3rd-and-3.
2nd Quarter, 00:43: Jones went deep to Cobi Hamilton down the right side of the field, but Logan Ryan was there with spectacular coverage to break up the pass.
2nd Quarter, 1:47: Bolden was in bounds, so the play results in a touchback for the Steelers. What a waste of everyone's time.
The Steelers have two remaining timeouts for this final drive of the half.
2nd Quarter, 1:47: Ryan Allen's punt is under review. They're checking to see if Brandon Bolden stepped out of bounds when he downed the ball, which would be the difference of the ball being inside the five or a touchback for the Steelers.
2nd Quarter, 1:56: Another drive comes to an end for the Patriots as they can't hold on to the ball. Brady went Edelman's way over the middle of the field on 3rd-and-3, but the receiver couldn't hold on to the ball.
Shaq Mason was called for a hold on the play, so the Edelman catch would have been negated anyways. But you hate to see drops by anyone. Edelman hasn't been himself yet this season, and that drop isn't helping his cause.
2nd Quarter, 2:00: The Pats have the ball at the 50 at the 2-minute warning, following a seven-yard connection between Brady and Blount on a short pass.
2nd Quarter, 3:56: Tom Brady just picked up his third rushing first down of the day on a four-yard scramble on a 3rd-and-3. Brady showing off his wheels this afternoon in Pittsburgh; he has 11 yards on three carries.
2nd Quarter, 4:42: The Steelers get nothing off that drive, as Chris Boswell misses a 42-yard attempt wide right.
Jones went looking for Brown on third down, but was much closer to Devin McCourty on that attempt than any Steeler.
2nd Quarter, 4:53: Heyward-Bey was ready to celebrate his second touchdown of the quarter, but a hold on guard Chris Hubbard wipes out the potential equalizer.
Instead, the Steelers are now looking at a 3rd-and-13 at the New England 25.
2nd Quarter, 7:17: The Steelers get the benefit of a lame unnecessary roughness call on Dont'a Hightower. Jamie Collins wrapped up (rather, picked up) Le'Veon Bell after a short reception, and Hightower came in and put a hit on the back just as the whistle was being blown. It cost the Patriots 15 yards, and gave Pittsburgh a first down.
2nd Quarter, 8:16: The Patriots offense gives it right back to the Steelers following a quick three-and-out. Brady went Brandon Bolden's way on 3rd-and-8, but the pass went off the back's fingertips to force a New England punt. Bolden had plenty of field in front of him, and cost the Pats a first down on that drop.
Ryan Allen's shanked the punt, which went out of bounds after just 25 yards, so the Steelers will start things at their own 47-yard line.
2nd Quarter, 9:02 -- Patriots 14, Steelers 7
We have ourselves a ball game. The Steelers turn that lengthy Brown connection into seven points, as Jones hits Darrius Heyward-Bey for a 14-yard touchdown a few plays later.
Patrick Chung lost Heyward-Bey in the end zone, who got both feet down on the back shoulder throw by Jones.
Pittsburgh needed just five plays to drive 71 yards down the field, with 51 of those yards going to Brown on that one play. The Patriots defense has done well this season limiting the number of big plays, but that wasn't the case on that last drive.
2nd Quarter, 10:47: Antonio Brown just left Butler in his dust, and hauled in a 51-yard catch from Jones down to the New England 20.
2nd Quarter, 10:58 -- Patriots 14, Steelers 0
That one had to feel good for LeGarrette Blount. His three-yard touchdown run gives New England a two touchdown lead early in the second quarter.
The Blount run capped off an 11-play drive that covered 84 yards in 4:46. He's now up to seven rushing touchdowns on the season. Ridiculous.
Julian Edelman had some key receptions on the drive, and is up to six catches for 39 yards on the afternoon. Brady is 10-for-11 for 96 yards, and he's now completed 79 percent of his passes this season.
Things are rolling for the Patriots offense right now, as they're having their way with the Pittsburgh defense.
2nd Quarter, 11:59: The ruling stands, the Pats have a 1st-and-10 at the Pittsburgh 13, and the Steelers are charged with their first timeout.
2nd Quarter, 11:59: It looks like the Patriots have moved the chains on another third down, this time on a 3rd-and-9 with a 13-yard pickup by Rob Gronkowski. The Steelers have challenged the ruling that Gronk made the catch (the ball rolled out after the tight end was clearly on the ground), which in the end will be a waste of a timeout for Pittsburgh.
2nd Quarter, 13:24: Brady has his first incomplete of the day, as a short bid to James White at the line was broken up by linebacker Ryan Shazier, who read the play perfectly from the snap.
2nd Quarter, 13:53: Brady picked up 15 yards with a pass to Hogan along the sidelines, and the Pats picked up another 15 on an unnecessary roughness on Steelers rookie corner Artie Burns, who sent Hogan hard to the ground after the catch.
2nd Quarter, 14:45: The Pats move the chains on the first play of the quarter, a nine-yard scamper up the middle by Blount.
End 1st Quarter -- Patriots 7, Steelers 0
The Patriots end the first quarter (a rather quick one at that) with Julian Edelman picking up nine yards on a second down pass from Tom Brady. The Pats will face a 2nd-and-1 at their own 25 when the game resumes.
Brady finished the quarter 7-for-7 for 66 yards and the lone score in the game.
1st Quarter, 00:52: Another quick three-and-out for the defense, as the Steelers get flagged for offensive PI on 2nd-and-8 (Darrius Heyward-Bey had Eric Rowe's jersey in his hand on the way down the field), which cost the Steelers 10 yards.
On 2nd-and-18, David Johnson was met in the middle of the field by Hightower and Ninkovich and was sent to the ground quickly (and rather loudly). Antonio Brown got the ball on third down, but was only able to pick up nine yards to force a Pittsburgh punt.
The Pats will take over at their own 16 after a fair catch by Edelman on the punt (which followed a punt in which the Steelers didn't have enough players on the line, resulting in a re-punt).
1st Quarter, 2:55 -- Patriots 7, Steelers 0
The Pats turn Butler's interception into a nice 13 play, 80-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Tom Brady capped it off with a short screen to James White, which the back turned into a 19-yard touchdown thanks to a great block by Joe Thuney.
White now has three touchdowns on the season, all coming in the last two weeks. Brady is a perfect 6-for-6 with 57 yards to start this one, plus seven rushing yards.
The score to White was Brady's 435th career touchdown pass, which puts him fourth in NFL history. Not too shabby.
1st Quarter, 4:28: Pittsburgh went with another blitz on a 3rd-and-2, but Brady faked them out with a pitch and was able to scramble for five yards to move the chains again on third down.
1st Quarter, 6:44: Facing a 3rd-and-9, Tom Brady was feeling the pressure of the Pittsburgh pass rush so he scrambled out of the pocket, and then hit James White for 13 yards to move the chains. Nice play by White, who ran across the field and got both feet in bounds on the reception.
1st Quarter, 10:18: The Malcolm Butler-Antonio Brown matchup is going to be a fun one to watch today, and it starts off great for Patriots fans.
Butler covered Brown to perfection into the end zone and picked off Jones' bid to keep any PIttsburgh points off the board. That's Butler's first pick of the season, and just the fifth by the Patriots.
1st Quarter, 12:20: First play of the drive and Jones hits Antonio Brown for a 25-yard connection down to the New England 20.
1st Quarter, 12:42: The ruling on the field stands, so the Steelers will take over at the New England 45. It's up to the New England defense to come up with another stop.
1st Quarter, 12:42: That's not how the Patriots wanted to start on offense. Brady hit Chris Hogan on first down, but linebacker Jarvis Jones ripped it right out of his grips as Hogan went to the ground and recovered for Pittsburgh at the New England 45.
The play is under review to see if Hogan was down -- his right leg may have been on the ground before the ball came out, but it's not looking good for the Patriots.
1st Quarter, 12:51: Jones went to tight end Xavier Grimble on 3rd-and-7, but Patrick Chung was there for the stop after a three-yard pick up. So a quick three-and-out for the Patriots defense, as they're able to get off the field on third down.
1st Quarter, 13:55: Bell actually had the ball stripped on his first carry on 2nd-and-7, but was able to recover for no gain. Alan Branch was in on the strip for the Patriots.
1st Quarter, 15:00: Gostkowski's kick went into the middle of the end zone and the Steelers took a knee, so Landry Jones will start at his own 25 to get this one going.
Pregame -- 4:23 p.m.: Rob Gronkowski, Dont'a Hightower, Matthew Slater and Devin McCourty went out for the coin toss, which the Patriots lost with a tails call. But the Steelers elected to receive, so in this instance, the Pats lose the toss but they kind of win.
Pregame -- 4:15 p.m.: To no surprise, the Patriots took the field to some loud boos in Pittsburgh. Those Steelers fans are passionate about their Steelers, and passionately hate the Patriots.
Pregame --4:05 p.m.: It's 66 and a little windy at Heinz Field, so we'll see how that plays into the kicking games this afternoon.
Stephen Gostkowski's struggles have been well documented, and now he has to go in and kick in one of the tougher stadiums across the NFL.
Pregame -- 3:25 p.m.: De'Angelo Williams isn't playing for the Steelers, so he had plenty of time to troll Patriots fans on Twitter this morning.
The running back has never held back on his dislike for the Patriots, and posted a video of himself tackling a Patriots fan in a "Free Brady" shirt and Patriots hat. The fan stopped by Williams' house in search for an air pump for his deflated football. Funny.
Pregame -- 3:05 p.m.: The 5-1 Patriots are getting ready to square off against the 4-2 Steelers, who will have Landry Jones under center in place of the injured Ben Roethlisberger. That takes a little of the luster off what should be one of the marquee matchups of the season, but Sunday will still provide a good road test for the Pats against a team that is playing very well defensively at Heinz Field.
The Steelers are 3-0 at home this season, so the Pats will be looking to do what no other visitor to Pittsburgh yet this season.
The inactives have been released, with the following players out for the Patriots:
CB Cyrus Jones
TE AJ Derby
RB D.J. Foster
T LaAdrian Waddle
S Jordan Richards
DL Woodrow Hamilton
DL Vincent Valentine
Not spotted on the list is linebacker Jamie Collins, who will make his return after missing last week's win over the Bengals with a hip injury. It's big for the Patriots to get Collins back, who will certainly help Dont'a Hightower as the Patriots look to contain elusive Pittsburgh running back Le'Veon Bell.
Brandon Bolden is also active after missing the last two weeks.
Rookie corner Cyrus Jones is inactive for the second straight week after getting booted from New England's Week 5 win over the Browns for throwing a punch. With Jones and Foster both inactive, it's unclear who will be returning kicks for the Patriots today. It could be a combo of receivers Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola, defensive backs Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung, or possibly special teams captain Matthew Slater. LeGarrette Blount also has some experience returning kicks, so we'll see how Bill Belichick goes on this front.
Here is a list of the Pittsburgh players who won't be suiting up for this one:
Tune in to Patriots-Steelers at 4:25pm on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. After the game, tune in to Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 and three full hours of reaction and analysis on 98.5 The Sports Hub!
