Brady, Patriots Blow Out Steelers 33-3 In Week 1 Victory
FOXBORO (CBS) -- The defending champs kicked off their season with a Super celebration, and they followed it up with a victory over the Steelers.
After opening up a 20-0 lead in the first half, the Patriots rolled to a 33-3 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday night.
Tom Brady completed 24 of his 36 passes for 341 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Ben Roethlisberger finished 27-for-47 for 277 yards with no touchdowns and one interception for Pittsburgh.
Phillip Dorsett had his first career multiple-touchdown game, catching a 25-yard strike in the first half for a score and making a 58-yard touchdown grab early in the second half. Josh Gordon caught the other touchdown from Brady, while Julian Edelman also threw a pass, completing a trick play to James White for a gain of 32 yards.
The Patriots opened up a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, on back-to-back spectacular plays. The first was the aforementioned double pass, with Brady throwing to Edelman, and Edelman throwing across the field to White, who took off and ran for a gain of 32 yards. On the next snap, Brady hit Josh Gordon on a crossing pattern, and Gordon ran free before essentially leaping through a would-be tackle by Joe Haden inside the 10-yard line. Gordon landed on his feet, shook the tackle, and found his way into the end zone.
The lead stretched to 10-0 early in the second quarter, when a Patriots drive stalled out inside the 10-yard line. Stephen Gostkowski successfully kicked a 25-yard field goal.
The Patriots extended the lead to 17-0 later in the second quarter, when Brady capped an 80-yard drive with a 25-yard bullet to Phillip Dorsett up the right seam. A field goal before halftime -- this one a successful 41-yard attempt -- extended the lead to 20-0.
The Steelers managed a field goal on their opening drive of the second half, but the Patriots responded quickly when Brady connected with Dorsett for a 58-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-3. Two more Gostkowski field goals made it 33-3 midway through the fourth quarter.
Devin McCourty intercepted a deep shot from Roethlisberger late in the fourth to fully extinguish any hopes of a late Pittsburgh run.
With a catch in the second quarter, Edelman became just the fifth player in Patriots history to record 500 receptions with the team.
Edelman joins Wes Welker (672), Troy Brown (557), Stanley Morgan (534), and Rob Gronkowski (521) on that list.
The night began with a Super celebration on the field, as Drew Bledsoe, Ty Law, Willie McGinest, Rob Ninkovich, and Gronkowski took the field with owner Robert Kraft to kick off the unveiling of the sixth Super Bowl banner above the south end zone of Gillette Stadium.
Next week, the Patriots will travel to Miami to face the Dolphins, who lost 59-10 against Baltimore in their season opener earlier on Sunday.
