Cassel has 5 turnovers to Steelers Big "D"
New England falls to Pittsburgh at home in the rain
Offense: The game started out well on the offensive side, with New England scoring an early touchdown and maintaining a lead for much of the first half. The Patriots did a pretty good job of controlling field position in the first half, although they only scored a field goal after their opening possession, they got a couple of first downs on each drive to move the ball. Cassel seemed to be comfortable in the early stages, and the offensive line held up. Sammy Morris was responsible for the majority of carries in the first half and grinded out consistent gains, with a few long runs on the Patriots last possession in the second quarter. The second half was a different story for New England, as turnovers and poor execution quickly ended any chances of a victory. A fumbled kickoff return, interceptions and more fumbles by Cassel, and dropped passes were among the miscues in the second half. A lot of the problems were caused by the pressure from the Steelers defensive line, but unusually bad execution was the main reason for the struggles. Cassel couldn't generate any type of rhythm in the passing game, neither Morris or Faulk could grind out yards against the seven or eight Pittsburgh defenders near the line of scrimmage, and Belichick just didn't have an answer for the plays and formations thrown at the Patriots offense. It's uncommon to see New England outcoached and outprepared by the opposition, but it happened in the second half of this matchup. The Steelers pass rush and aggressiveness was very impressive and they showed their resilience in a tough environment. Matt Cassel accounted for 2 interceptions and just 169 passing yards. Kevin Faulk was the top rusher with 73 yards and also the leading receiver with 48 yards.
Defense: Just like the offense, the Patriots played well in the first half only to run out of energy in the final stages of the game. New England started off well, stopping the run and forcing Rothlisberger to scramble and throw out of position. As the game went on, Pittsburgh dominated the line of scrimmage, being the faster team off the snap and making plays when it mattered. The offensive line of Pittsburgh controlled the line of scrimmage and provide plenty of time for Rothlisberger to throw. With a quarterback standing free in the pocket, almost any type of route was possible and Pittsburgh easily moved the ball in the second half. Having short fields off New England turnovers only helped their offense. The Patriots were too slow and out of sync to generate a pass rush and were outplayed near the line of scrimmage, not getting past blockers and not getting close to Rothlisberger. Since there was no penetration from the defensive line, it allowed Pittsburgh to rely on their running game to get first downs and control the clock. The rushing opened up the passing for the Steelers and both types of plays were effective. Pittsburgh seemed in better condition for this matchup and fatigue became a factor for the Patriots defense. In the foruth quarter, the Steelers ran the ball to kill off most off the remaining time.Rothlisberger just had to throw the ball to an open receiver on short routes to gain yardage, with the effective rushing, a deep passing game wasn't necessary. Pittsburgh had a lot of yards after the catch, the reecivers weer catching the ball in open space and running freely. WIth this loss, New England falls to 7-5 and a game behind the Jets in the AFC East.
Special Teams: Steohen Gostkowski made one of two field goal attempts and Chris Hanson punted 4 times for a 43 yard average.
By Chad Fukuoka
ProFootball-fans.com New England Patriots Correspondent