This one feels much more like a Patriots loss than it does a Steelers win. New England outplayed Pittsburgh in almost all areas offensively. They had 368 yards to Pittsburgh’s 202, and nearly doubled them both on the ground and through the air.
But the Patriots just could not get out of their own way. They lost four fumbles in this game, and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye was picked off in the end zone at the end of the first half, keeping points off the board.
Look, you’ll take wins any way you can get them, but this didn’t exactly inspire a ton of confidence in this team moving forward. There were some bright spots in this game and some great individual performances, but I’d be lying if I said I fully trusted this team. I don’t. Not yet, anyways.
Here’s my five thoughts on the win.
1: TJ Watt, Welcome Back
Last week felt like a breaking point for TJ Watt.
Pittsburgh’s loss last week marked the sixth straight game (dating back to last season and including the postseason) that Watt had failed to record a sack. The recently anointed $41 million dollar man was a representative of the NFL’s highly paid defense that had allowed 30+ points and 394+ yards in each of the first two games.
While the team defense was already bad, it didn’t help that Watt was seemingly a ghost on the field. Through the first two weeks, he amassed just two tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, one pass defended, and no sacks. He just didn’t provide any real pop.
He needed to step up. On Sunday, he did.
Watt notched his first two sacks of 2025 on New England’s Drake Maye as part of five total tackles. But perhaps his biggest moment was recovering the fumble forced by Nick Herbig. Watt jumping on that ball marked the fifth turnover of the day for the Patriots, and in a tied game in the fourth quarter, gave the Steelers another chance.
Aaron Rodgers and the offense had usually found a way to squander past turnovers forced by the defense, but late in the fourth, they finally were able to get some more points on the board.
Watt recorded a forced fumble of his own in the third quarter as well. He was a force on the field today, the kind of Watt we expect to see each and every week. It was good to see that on Sunday.
2: DK Metcalf Needs More Involvement
Good things tend to happen whenever you can get DK Metcalf the ball.
I know that he has a bit of a drop issue at times, but he’s still this team’s best playmaker, both as a bulldozing runner and in contested catches.
Metcalf got a catch-and-run pass from Rodgers on their second offensive snap of the game, gaining 15 yards before he was brought down. But he was only targeted three more times over the course of this game.
He finished the day with three catches for 32 yards and a touchdown, which involved a beautiful catch in the end zone over the head of Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis.
I still would like to see the Steelers use him more. You brought in Rodgers because he still has the arm and the vision; you brought in Metcalf because he has the hands and the talent. If the offense is going to actually succeed, that’s a connection the Steelers need to dial up more often.
The offense was a slog to watch for large chunks of this game. It will be understandably forgotten because the Steelers won and they found the end zone when they needed it most, but there’s still a lot left to be desired on that side of the ball.
3: A Non-Discussion Discussion
Speaking of things that may be understandably forgotten, head coach Mike Tomlin is lucky that a decision to punt won’t be a bigger story this week.
At a 4th and 8 on the New England 43-yard line, a field goal would have been right around the 60-yard mark for kicker Chris Boswell. It’s no chip shot, surely, but Boswell is more than capable of swinging a kick like that. Instead, Tomlin opted to punt.
Punter Corliss Waitman, trying not to send it far enough for a touchback, boots one just 25 yards down the field, giving it to the Patriots at their own 18-yard line.
Look, it doesn’t matter now. But if the Steelers wound up losing by three points or less in this one, that was a decision that Tomlin’s critics would have pounced on, and they would have had a case. Boswell’s 60-yarder back in Week 1 (a career high) would have been good from nearly 70 yards out. This would have been a major talking point had the Steelers lost.
Instead, we luckily don’t have to talk about it. Even though New England was driving after that punt, one of their many fumbles cost them dearly.
4: Kenneth Gainwell In (More) Action
Things looked a little bit different in the return game this week for the Steelers. After rookie running back Kaleb Johnson misplayed a kick return that went for a Seattle touchdown last week, it was Gainwell who took over at that role for the team up in Foxborough.
Gainwell didn’t have to do much back there; two kicks went for touchbacks, and he only had to return once for 27 yards. On offense, Gainwell took four carries for 16 yards, including a one-yard touchdown run for his team’s first score of the game.
Johnson, meanwhile, did not play Sunday.
Jaylen Warren is clearly the RB1 on this team. He had 18 carries in this one for 47 yards, and led the team with five catches for 34 yards. He’s a dynamic player that the Steelers like to use in a variety of ways. But if the Steelers plan on holding Johnson out for an extended amount of time, I do wonder if Gainwell will see an expanded role in the offense.
I love Warren, but he’s averaging 3.06 yards a carry so far this season. That figure might inspire the Steelers to split up the carries more between Warren and Gainwell, who averages 4.2 yards per carry in his career and 3.4 in his brief time with the Steelers.
5: Brandin Echols Has His Ramsey Moment
In Week 1, it was Jalen Ramsey that made the game-winning play when he tackled Jets receiver Garrett Wilson and jarred the ball free on fourth down.
In Week 3, it was Brandin Echols’ turn to make the final play on defense. On fourth and short, Maye found Patriots wide receiver Demario Douglas, who tried to cut away from the defender to reach the first down. But Echols was able to tangle his arms with the legs of Douglas to bring him down short of the sticks.
That’s just a terrific tackle for a team that has really struggled to do that over the first two weeks. That, along with the interception at the end of the first half to rob the Patriots of points, combined for a pretty good day at the office for Echols.
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