Team Grades: Brady, Gronkowski Lead Patriots To Opening Week Win Over Steelers
By Gregory Hunt
The New England Patriots, Super Bowl XLIX champions, got their title defense off to a positive start Thursday night with a 28-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium. Emotions were high at Foxboro, due largely to the Deflategate and Spygate controversies that have made headlines in recent weeks, but the Patriots tried to put those scandals behind them as they raised their fourth Super Bowl banner in a ceremony prior to the opening kickoff.
Offense: A-
Quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski looked good early, combining for two touchdown passes on New England first three drives, but Gronkowski's biggest plays came in the fourth quarter, when he made a 52-yard reception that put New England on the Pittsburgh 27-yard line, and then he recovered a Dion Lewis fumble on the one-yard line to keep that drive alive before catching his third touchdown pass. Tight end Scott Chandler also joined the party with an second-half touchdown catch of his own.
Despite his one fumble, Lewis looked impressive at running back, making a number of defenders miss on his way to 69 rushing yards on 15 carries. Lewis also caught four passes for 51 yards, making him look a lot like former Patriots running back Kevin Faulk. Without injured wide receiver Brandon LaFell, New England didn't have much of a deep passing game, but Brady adjusted by dinking and dunking his way to a franchise-record 19 consecutive completions at one point in the game.
Defense: C
Despite the victory, the New England defense gave up a remarkable amount of yardage. Pittsburgh was without suspended running back Le'Veon Bell, but DeAngelo Williams stepped up and continually beat Patriots defenders to the edge on his way to 127 yards. Overall, Pittsburgh outgained New England in yardage 464-361, but the Patriots were still able to keep Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger from throwing a touchdown pass until two seconds remained in the game..
New England's defense looked most impressive on a fourth quarter drive, when it held Pittsburgh to a field goal despite a first-and-goal at the one-yard line after a pass interference penalty on safety Patrick Chung. Two other productive Pittsburgh drives were halted in the first half, both resulting in missed field goals. New England also got a second-half interception by defensive back Duron Harmon for the only turnover of the game.
Special Teams: B+
The punt coverage team played a solid game. Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown is known as one of the most dangerous punt returners in the NFL, but he was held to just a single three-yard return on four New England punts by Ryan Allen. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski didn't have a single field goal attempt, but he didn't have any problem making four extra points, which are now equivalent to 33-yard field goals thanks to the NFL's new rule in which teams snap extra points from the 15-yard line.
The return game didn't have many opportunities to shine. Tight end Michael Williams returned just one kickoff for eight yards, and wide receiver Danny Amendola returned just one punt for one yard.
Coaching: C
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels did an excellent job in adjusting for New England's lack of a deep passing game. The short passing game, largely featuring Gronkowski, Lewis and slot receiver Julian Edelman, gave the Pittsburgh defense fits. However, defensive coordinator Matt Patricia didn't have an answer for the Pittsburgh running game. Patriots defenders repeatedly failed to maintain containment, so that needs to be corrected if New England plans on winning its seventh consecutive AFC East title.
For Week Two, the Patriots will travel to Buffalo to meet the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Last season, the Patriots lost at Buffalo 17-9. Dating back to 2000, it was only the fourth time in 30 games that the Patriots had lost to the Bills.
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on aExaminer.com.