Steelers get pre-Christmas gift with win over the Patriots

by Christina "Tina" Rivers (3Rivers_Writer) on December 16, 2018

If you’re a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and you don’t know that the black and gold just earned a HUGE win over the New England Patriots at Heinz Field, 17-10, you might be unconscious or have passed out at the half. Give a ton of credit to the Steelers defense for forcing Brady to be uncomfortable. A little thank you gift ought to be given to the New England offensive line too for committing so many false start penalties. I take that back. The Steelers WON! Who cares what the Patriots did!

As pandemonium breaks out, and the stands in Heinz Field clear of fans who are quite possibly out of their minds, let’s look at the big plays that made the difference.

First, the Steelers opened the game with an up-tempo offense that featured empty backfields and included Antonio Brown lined up as a tight end and Jaylen Samuels as a receiver. In just 11 plays, Ben Roethlisberger took Pittsburgh’s offense down the field and hit tight end Vance McDonald for a touchdown pass. Chris Boswell trotted onto the field and nailed the PAT. Things in Pittsburgh seemed almost magical.

The Steelers defense, however, got burned in their first series when they had the wrong package on the field and were flagged for 12-men. Tom Brady took advantage of the confusion on the next play and hit Chris Hogan in full sprint and the Patriots tied the score.

In a game that saw both offenses stall and both defenses force their opponents to punt the ball, fans were feeling the pressure. You could see that players on the sidelines were as well. This game, folks, was one to induce near heart attacks across Steelers Nation.

T.J. Watt had an excellent game, pressuring Brady from the outside and finally earned a sack for his efforts. The defense, in general, held on several key downs and when veteran Joe Haden went skyward to catch an interception over the top of two potential Patriots receivers, Heinz Field erupted.

The Patriots kept things classicly close, making a successful field goal to one missed wide-right by Boswell before the end of the third quarter. Boswell would later get redemption and put the Steelers up 17-10.

It was the Steelers defense that sealed the win, however. Applying a mix of coverage and pressure packages, Pittsburgh didn’t allow Brady to execute any last-minute heroics and when he overthrew receivers in the end zone twice (at least one due to getting hit by a Steelers defender) to make it fourth-and-long in the very final seconds of the game, the feeling that a win was within reach was palpable. In the end, the Steelers were able to knock down a potential game-winning pass.

#BreakingNews #HereWeGo #Steelers pic.twitter.com/lveBvhIrN7

— 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 (@steelcityundrgr) December 17, 2018

Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Vince Williams hugs running back James Conner after beating the Patriots Sunday, Dec. 16, 2018, at the Heinz Field, Pittsburgh. pic.twitter.com/GfCe5C3VG1

— Peter Diana (@peterdianapghpg) December 17, 2018