The Steelers were trounced by Bill Bellichick and the Patriots in the worst opening day loss since 1989! The Steelers defense had no answers for the Patriot’s play action pass…and the offense couldn’t move the ball. It was a complete breakdown.
The offense was a non-factor and looked completely disjointed. It was clear that Ben Roethlisberger was not comfortable, and the receivers didn’t help him. He was jumpy with several of his throws off track. Donte Moncrief had two crucial drops, including a potential touchdown. JuJu Smith-Schuster played well but was a non-factor. Vance McDonald was non-existent until the game was nearly over. James Washington had one big catch but was not on the same page with Roethlisberger. The post AB era has begun and so far, is not impressive.
The offensive line was mediocre and while Ben was never sacked there was no room to run. Conner finished with a weak 21 yards on 10 carries while Jaylen Samuels, after running for 142 yards against the Patriots last season, was held to only four yards on two carries.
The pass rush all but disappeared in the game and the linebackers had no answer for the play action pass. Devin Bush put together 11 tackles but didn’t have the impact that was expected. Vince Williams had trouble in coverage, the Patriots whipped up on T.J. Watt and took him out of the game. It was another disappointing game for Bud Dupree despite recording the only sack of the day.
The secondary was torched by Tom Brady…again. The intermediate passing was unstoppable and long passing strikes worked when Brady needed them. All the secondary upgrades didn’t make any difference it was a different cast of characters but the same story. Brady finished with three touchdowns and 341 yards passing. Even a Patriots gadget play was effective with Julian Edelman throwing for a 32-yard strike.
Once again, the Steelers went into Foxboro and once again were dismantled in every facet of the game. Mike Tomlin and crew don’t seem to have any answers for the Patriots adjustments. Everything successful the Steelers did in last year’s game was non-existent in this one. The play calling was atrocious and too conservative to beat a team like New England. The Steelers were clearly not prepared and that falls directly on the coaching staff.
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: This is tricky…the answer is NO ONE, but we will give the Game Beer to Darryl Drake. He is missed, and we dedicated this year’s shirts to his honor.
Where I watched the game: At the house with KGB and Billy. The Beer of choices was IC Light and Corona Light and the food was great, maybe the best. KGB went all out for the games; “Dirty” Pierogis and Teriyaki Bomb Wings for an appetizer and Primanti Style Sandwiches for dinner. Still full as I write this blog. The Tailgate Kids went to “bed” although suspiciously knew a lot about the game when they woke up and Little Miss Tailgate is at college now, she watched in her lounge there. (SEE BELOW)
My Stat of the week: Is a mind boggling one, Tom Brady is now 6-0 v. the Steelers in New England and has yet to throw an interception. He absolutely owns the Steelers. (On a side note he played against Devin Bush last night, he also played against Bush’s father.)
My Thoughts on next week: The Steelers will have to bounce back against a tough Seattle team coming off a tough win.
This week’s Jersey: Cameron Heyward, 97 AWAY, it was a gift for the playoffs last year and this was my first chance to wear it.
Little Miss Tailgate:
This year is going to be different for the blog. I am now away at college beginning my freshman year. However, I’m not letting college hold me back from watching the Steelers. We have a great group of friends that I will be watching with and a great area to watch from. I thought that yinz would be interested to hear about my first game since I left for college.
I have met some amazing and dedicated sports fans like myself to watch the game with, which is the best thing I could ask for. It was cool to meet a friend who is also a hardcore Steeler fan like myself, but I have a wide range of team favorites all around my building. Friends that are Steelers fans, Seahawks fans, Cowboys fans, Giants fans, Jet fans, Browns fan and my suitemate herself is a hardcore Ravens fan (can’t wait for Steelers v Ravens week this year). Even though we all have our opinions on who’s the better team we all had a great football Sunday together.
We watched the game on the NFL Sunday ticket in a lounge that’s in my residence building that has a large TV in it and a bunch of comfy chairs. We all watched together starting from one o’clock, we stopped for church at 5:30 and then went back to finish the games and set up for the disastrous Steeler game that happened last night.
We all were yelling and screaming, because truthfully in all my life I have never seen the Steelers play so poorly. Both the offense and defense were broken and need major improvement.
I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for me this year with everything being new in my life and I am very excited to embark on this new chapter in my life and enjoy this season from a new perspective. Root Beer We Go Steelers!
Until next time,
Little Miss Tailgate