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Monday, November 15, 2010
PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 14: Danny Woodhead #39 of the New England Patriots jumps over James Farrior #51 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the game on November 14, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)It wasn’t quite waving a white flag, but the Steelers conceded that going for an onsides kick midway through the fourth quarter while trailing New England by 11 points Sunday was the smart move.
Especially with the way their defense was playing.
“That’s a coach’s decision, but I wanted them to onsides kick,” Steelers inside linebacker James Farrior said. “We couldn’t stop anything.”
The Steelers had no answer Sunday night for Tom Brady, whose precision passing led the Patriots to a 39-26 victory at Heinz Field. Brady completed 30 of 43 attempts for 350 yards and three touchdowns for a 117.4 passer rating against a defense that ranked No. 2 in the NFL in total yards and first in scoring.
“When you’re talking about Tom Brady, you’re talking about a Super Bowl MVP, you’re talking about a great quarterback,” Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor said. “He showed what he can do. It wasn’t something we were looking for, but it happened. … With a guy like that, you’ve got to be consistent. You’ve got to be clicking on all cylinders every snap. The minute you don’t, he’ll pick you apart.”
Brady led New England on six scoring drives, and the efficiency of the first four had the Steelers scratching their scalps. The Patriots had touchdown drives of 70 yards on eight plays, 78 yards on 10 plays and 80 yards on seven plays, along with a 10-play, 46-yard drive that resulted in a field goal.
The Patriots’ first drives of each half appeared to be following a script.
“Whether they did or didn’t is irrelevant,” Steelers strong safety Troy Polamalu said. “We’ve just got to be able to not give up big plays and give up field goals in the red zone. That was all the difference in the game.”
PITTSBURGH - NOVEMBER 14: Rob Gronkowski #87 of the New England Patriots catches a touchdown pass during the game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on November 14, 2010 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)It’s no surprise that Brady spread the ball to eight different receivers, but what was frustrating to the Steelers was that they allowed so many big plays. He found rookie tight end Rob Gronkowski for touchdowns of 19, 9 and 25 yards, hit slot receiver Wes Welker eight times for 89 yards, including a 26-yarder, and a 45-yarder to Brandon Tate set up Brady’s 3-yard scoring run with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.
“Once he gets hot, starts reading the defense, he’s hard to defend,” Farrior said. “That showed (Sunday) night. He ate us alive.”
Despite their ranking as one of the NFL’s premier defenses, the Steelers have been susceptible against the pass. They came into the game allowing 240 yards a game, but gave up a season-high 453 to the Patriots. That led to questions of whether the Steelers could avoid a late-season collapse like last year, when they lost five of their final eight.
“We’ll see how this team reacts,” Polamalu said. “It differs from year to year, but this was a good gauge to see where we’re at. We’re not near where we need to be with the elite teams in the NFL, as New England has proven that. But we’re barely halfway through the season. We still have a lot to go.”
That they were missing starting defensive ends Aaron Smith (triceps) and Brett Keisel (hamstring) and lost inside linebacker Lawrence Timmons to a hip pointer was no excuse. The Steelers saw that their flaws were exposed but believe that had more to do with going against one of the game’s greatest quarterbacks than having a defense on the decline.
“I think we’ve still got a championship-caliber team,” Farrior said. “We’ve just got to put it all together. We can’t let one game discourage us and get us out of our rhythm. We’ve got to go back to the lab and get to work.”
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