NEW: Patriots Fall to Steelers 17-10, Drop to 3-Seed in AFC Playoffs

Sunday, December 16, 2018

 

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Patriots fall to Steelers

The New England Patriots dropped their second straight game on Sunday night, falling to the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-10 at Heinz Field.

The loss drops the Patriots to 9-5 on the season and one game back of Houston for a first-round bye after the Texans beat the Jets Saturday night to improve to 10-4.

New England can still get a bye if they win out and the Texans lose one of their final two games.

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The Texans play at Philadelphia next week and then host the Jaguars in two weeks.

Pittsburgh is now 8-5-1 on the season and remains the four seed in the AFC.

Mistakes Cost Patriots

Trailing 14-10 with 8:53 to play, the Patriots had first and five at the Pittsburgh five-yard line.

On New England’s ensuing play, offensive lineman Marcus Cannon was called for holding, pushing the Patriots back to the 15-yard line.

Two plays later, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s pass to Julian Edelman was picked off by Joe Haden inside the Steeler five-yard line.

On Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession, the Patriots defense could not get off the field.

The Patriots had the Steelers at third and nine from their own 26, but Ben Roethlisberger scrambled to the right and completed a pass to Jaylen Samuels for the first down.

Pittsburgh would get a field goal on the drive to take a 17-10 lead with 2:30 to play.

On the Patriots final possession, Brady drove the Patriots to the Pittsburgh 16-yard line before another penalty pushed them back.

In the game, the Patriots were called for 14 penalties for 105 yards. 

On 4th and 15, from the 22-yard line, Brady’s pass to Julian Edelman fell incomplete in the end zone.

Road Struggles

The Patriots finish the season with a road record of 3-5 overall.

It is the first time since 2009 that New England finishes under .500 on the road. 

The Patriots road struggles are something totally different then what we have seen in recent years.

Last season, the Patriots went 7-1 on the road and then 8-0 in 2016.

Next Up 

The Patriots return to action on Sunday, December 23 when they host the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium. 

Game time is set for 1 p.m.

 

Related Slideshow: Patriots vs. Steelers - The Last 10 Meetings - Updated December 2018

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September 25, 2005

Regular Season Week 3 - Heinz Field 

Patriots 23, Steelers 20 

Adam Vinatieri kicked a game-winning field goal with one second left on the clock and the Patriots escaped with a 23-20 win. 

How it Happened 

Trailing 20-13, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger found Hines Ward for a four-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 20 with 1:21 left to play in the game. 

In their final possession with just over a minute to play, Brady drove the Patriots offense down the field and into field goal range.

Vinatieri came on with one second left to play and kicked a game-winning 43-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 23-20 win. 

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December 9, 2007

Regular Season Week 14 - Gillette Stadium 

Patriots 34, Steelers 13 

The Patriots got two touchdowns from Randy Moss and one from Wes Welker en route to a 34-13 win and a 13-0 regular season record. 

How it Happened

Leading 14-13 with 2:29 to play in the first half, the Patriots extended their lead before the half on a Stephen Gostkowski field goal to give them a 17-13 lead heading into the locker room.  

To start the second, Brady hit Jabar Gaffney for a 56-yard touchdown pass and then Welker on a two-yard touchdown pass all in the third quarter to put the Patriots up 31-13. 

Gostkowski added a field goal in the fourth to give the Patriots their winning margin. 

 

PHOTO: firebrandal/flickr

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November 30, 2008

Regular Season Week 13 - Gillette Stadium 

Steelers 33, Patriots 10 

With Matt Cassel at quarterback, the Patriots could not keep up with the Pittsburgh offense who would outscore the Patriots 30-0 from the second quarter on to win 33-10. 

How it Happened 

Behind a rushing touchdown from Sammy Morris and a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, the Patriots jumped out to a 10-3 lead, but that would be their only points the rest of the way. 

The Steelers got touchdowns from Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward en route to 30 straight points and a 33-10 win. 

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November 14, 2010

Regular Season Week 10 - Heinz Field 

Patriots 39, Steelers 26 

Rob Gronkowski caught three touchdown passes and the Patriots beat Pittsburgh 39-26 to move to 7-2 on the season. 

How it Happened 

Leading 10-3 with 5:08 left in the first half, Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a nine-yard touchdown pass, his second of the game, to give the Patriots lead to 17-3. 

With time winding down in the half, Brady called his own number, rushing three yards to the end zone to put New England up 23-3 at the half. 

Gronkowski would add another touchdown catch in the fourth quarter as the Patriots beat the Steelers 39-26. 

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October 30, 2011

Regular Season Week 8 - Heinz Field 

Steelers 25, Patriots 17 

The Patriots comeback attempt fell short in Pittsburgh as the Steelers held on for a 25-17 win.

How it Happened 

Leading 10-7 with 8:20 left in the first half, Pittsburgh would outscore the Patriots 13-3 to take a 23-10 lead into the fourth quarter. 

The Patrons would get within one possession after Brady found Aaron Hernandez for a touchdown but that is as close as they would get. 

On New England’s final possession, Brady would fumble the ball out of the back of the end zone after a hit by Brett Keisel to give the Steelers a 25-17 win. 

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November 3, 2013

Regular Season Week 9 - Gillette Stadium 

Patriots 55, Steelers 31 

The Patriots scored 17 straight points in the second half en route to a 55-31 win over the Steelers at Gillette Stadium. 

How it Happened 

The Patriots held a 17-3 lead with 3:51 left in the first half before the Steelers would come back to eventually tie the game at 24 midway through the third quarter. 

From that point, the Patriots scored 17 straight points capped off by a Stevan Ridley five-yard touchdown run to take a 41-24 lead with 9:16 left in the fourth. New England would add two touchdowns in the fourth to get to 55 points. 

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September 10, 2015

Regular Season Week 1 - Gillette Stadium 

Patriots 28, Steelers 21 

The New England Patriots unveiled their 2014 Super Bowl Championship banner and held on to beat the Steelers 28-21. 

How it Happened 

The Patriots led 21-3 early in the third quarter before the Steelers scored 11 straight points, cutting their deficit to just one score after a Josh Scobee field goal found its way through the uprights.

On the Patriots next offensive possession, Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski in the end zone to put the Patriots up 28-14. The Steelers would get a touchdown with just seconds left in the game to make the final score 28-21.

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October 23, 2016

Regular Season Week 7 - Heinz Field 

Patriots 27, Steelers 16 

The Patriots traveled to Pittsburgh and defeated the Steelers 27-16 to bring their overall record to 6-1 at the time. 

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not play in the game. 

How it Happened 

The Steelers got a field goal early in the fourth quarter to cut the Patriots lead to four points, 20-16, with 14:44 to play in the game. 

On the Patriots next offensive possession, the Patriots would seal the game on a six play, 75-yard drive ending in a LeGarrette Blount five-yard touchdown run. Gostkowski would convert the extra point to give the Patriots a 27-16 lead. 

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January 22, 2017

AFC Championship - Gillette Stadium 

Patriots 36,  Steelers 17 

The Patriots cruised past the Steelers 36-17 to win the AFC Championship and advance to the Super Bowl. 

New England would go on to beat the Atlanta Falcons in the Super Bowl. 

How it Happened

Leading 17-9 at the half at the half, the Patriots all but put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring the Steelers 16-0 in the period. 

New England got a 47-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski on their first possession to take a 20-9 lead. 

After the defense forced a Pittsburgh punt, Tom Brady handed the ball to LeGarrette Blount for one-yard touchdown run to give the Patriots a 27-9 lead with 2:44 left in the third quarter.

On Pittsburgh's ensuing offensive possession, Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy forced a fumble that was recovered by Rob Ninkovich at the Pittsburgh 28 yard line, giving the Patriots offense the ball back. The turnover was the first of the game by either team. 

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December 17, 2017

Regular Season Week 14 - Heinz Field 

Patriots 27, Steelers 24 

New England beat the Steelers 27-24 in the final minutes to take hold of the number one overall seed in the AFC. 

How it Happened

Trailing 24-19, Dion Lewis ran it into the end zone from eight yards out and Tom Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a two-point conversion to give the Patriots a 27-24 lead with 56 seconds left to play.

On Pittsburgh’s ensuing possession, Ben Roethlisberger found JuJu Smith-Schuster who ran 69 yards to the Patriots ten-yard line.

Roethlisberger then appeared to find tight end Jesse James for a touchdown to give the Steelers the lead. However, upon review, the play was ruled incomplete as the ball moved when James hit the ground.

On Pittsburgh’s next attempt, Roethlisberger faked a spike and threw to the end zone for Eli Rogers, but the pass was deflected by Eric Rowe and intercepted by Duron Harmon giving the Patriots the win.

 

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