The Patriots get the Steelers at a useful moment, and not just because there’s a little history attached to it. Last season’s meeting in Pittsburgh turned into a turnover mess for New England, a 21-14 loss in Week 3 that featured five giveaways, including four fumbles. It was ugly then, and it stung even more in hindsight once the Patriots settled in and dropped only one more regular-season game.
Now they have a shot at a cleaner kind of payback.
That’s especially relevant after last Sunday’s 13-10 loss to the Seahawks, a game the Patriots had in front of them before a rough fourth quarter from Drake Maye helped swing it away. The loss came with its own frustrations, but it was not some kind of revenge for Seattle’s 29-13 thumping in Super Bowl LX.
That sort of payback only comes in a Super Bowl. This week is different.
This week is about making Pittsburgh answer for what happened in 2025.
The assignment gets more interesting because Aaron Rodgers is still doing quarterback things. He threw for 221 yards in the Steelers’ 20-13 win over Cooper Rush and the Falcons last Sunday, and the Patriots would be smart to make life loud and uncomfortable for him. Rodgers, at 42, does not enjoy taking hits, so New England’s defense should be hunting him from the first snap.
One obvious place to start on offense is Hunter Henry. The Patriots are dealing with a mess at receiver after A.J.
Brown’s high ankle sprain, which will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Romeo Doubs did not exactly brighten the picture in his debut, Kayshon Boutte was sent to the Texans, and the receiver room as it stands now looks thinner than what the Patriots finished with last season.
That makes Henry even more important.
He was quiet against Seattle, finishing with three catches for 26 yards, while rookie Eli Raridon hauled in Maye’s only touchdown pass, a 2-yarder. But Henry has long been one of the most trusted options on the roster, and he already showed what he can do against Pittsburgh last season. In that game, he caught eight passes on 11 targets for 90 yards and scored twice, on touchdowns of 5 and 16 yards.
There are a few defenders worth tracking too, starting with T.J. Watt.
He’s coming off the ninth Defensive Player of the Week honor of his career after his 35-yard pick-6 sealed the Steelers’ win over the Falcons. And this game comes with an odd broadcast wrinkle: J.J.
Watt will be on the call with Jim Nantz on CBS’s Romo-free No. 1 team. J.J. also called last year’s Patriots-Steelers game and referred to his brother by his full name every time he mentioned him.
Kevin Byard is another name to keep in view. After the Seahawks game, one of the more frustrating pieces of the loss was the Patriots’ inability to force backup quarterback Drew Lock into a game-changing mistake. Byard, who led the NFL with seven interceptions last season as a Bear and has 36 in his career, has never intercepted Rodgers.
And then there’s the bigger conversation around Maye. He did lose the Seattle game with his third interception of the fourth quarter, an underthrown alley-oop intended for Mack Hollins that may have been the worst pass by a Patriots quarterback since Mac Jones’ collapse against the Colts in Germany in November 2023. But the reaction since then has been over the top.
This is still a quarterback who was runner-up for Most Valuable Player in his first full season as a starter, led the Patriots to the Super Bowl, clinching the trip with a gutsy bootleg in the Denver snow, and won three more playoff games last season than Justin Herbert has in his career. He did it while working behind a shaky offensive line and against brutal defenses.
He needs to stay aggressive, but not reckless, as Mike Vrabel put it. One bad game does not need a referendum attached to it.
There’s also a little throwback energy here. On Sept. 9, 2002, the Patriots played the Steelers on the night Gillette Stadium opened.
They raised a banner for their Super Bowl XXXVI win over the Rams, then beat Pittsburgh 30-14. Christian Fauria caught the first touchdown in the new stadium, a 4-yard Tom Brady pass, and the drive was set up by a Vrabel interception.
That Vrabel was a heck of a player. Anyone know what he’s up to these days?
With Jacksonville and Buffalo coming up, this one matters. Keep the turnovers down and the Patriots should have enough. Patriots 20, Steelers 13.
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The reaction has only added to the scrutiny around the move. Other stadium owners, including David Tepper, Arthur Blank and Jeffrey Lurie, were reported to back Krafts stance, while several of Sheerans opening acts have since withdrawn from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. For a Patriots owner used to being discussed in football terms, this is now playing out on a far broader stage. [Read more 🡒]
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Robert Spillane and TreVeyon Henderson are expected to play for New England, which at least gives the Patriots some stability as they get ready for Sunday. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, is dealing with questions around Michael Pittman and Joey Porter Jr., with Pittmans status still up in the air and Porter Jr. unlikely to go, leaving both sides waiting to see which missing pieces matter most once the game actually kicks off. [Read more 🡒]
Former Patriots 1,000-Yard Receiver Suddenly On Ravens Radar
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Baltimore also brought veteran Brandin Cooks in for a workout as another possible answer while Zay Flowers works through a hamstring issue and may be unavailable for the next game. For Patriots fans, Cooks still carries some familiarity as a former New England receiver who once gave the offense a big-play element, and his name now popping up on Baltimores radar adds another layer to a situation the Ravens clearly are not done addressing. [Read more 🡒]