The Pittsburgh Steelers headed up to Foxborough on Sunday to take on the defending AFC champion New England Patriots and walked away with an embarrassing 20-3 loss to fall to 1-1 on the season. It was another solid showing from the defense, as they continued to give Drake Maye problems, sacking him three times, forcing an interception, and holding him to just 208 passing yards. Unfortunately, the other side of the ball was a completely different story.
The offense somehow looked even worse than it did in Week 1 against the Falcons. The entire unit should have been left in Foxborough to walk home after that embarrassing display of NFL offense. Through two weeks, this offense has shown very little improvement, which is especially concerning after the Steelers hired an offensive-minded head coach with the expectation that this side of the ball would finally take a step forward.
Instead, the offense has looked as bad as ever, and if things don't turn around quickly, it could become the downfall of this season, especially with how well the defense has played through the first two weeks. In a game that Steelers fans will probably want to erase from their memory as quickly as possible, here are three players who still managed to stand out on Sunday.
3 Pittsburgh Steelers who managed to show out despite crushing Week 2 loss
Germie Bernard stepped up when the Steelers offense needed someone to
In a game where the Steelers couldn't get anything going offensively and had fans getting flashbacks to the Matt Canada days, there wasn't much to feel good about. The offensive line couldn't block anyone in either the passing or running game, leaving 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers running for his life all afternoon. At one point, Rodgers took such a hard hit that it was a miracle he was even able to get back up.
The offensive line deserves plenty of blame, but Rodgers didn't play well either. The running backs couldn't get anything going, and the wide receivers struggled to create any separation. That includes DK Metcalf, who is making north of $30 million per year and couldn't catch a cold on Sunday.
It was a miserable showing from almost everyone on offense except rookie second-round pick Germie Bernard. When seemingly nobody else could make a play, Bernard stepped up and gave the offense at least some sort of spark. He finished with four catches for 35 yards and, despite being only two games into his NFL career, showed some veteran savvy with the way he got open and made plays when his number was called.
Nick Herbig made his presence felt early with a big splash play
Early in the game, after the Steelers offense, unsurprisingly, went three-and-out to start the game, the Patriots quickly drove into scoring territory following a 29-yard pass to Hunter Henry. On the very next play, Rhamondre Stevenson caught a pass, and Nick Herbig tracked him down before using the peanut punch to knock the ball loose and force a fumble.
Then late in the third quarter, with the Steelers down 10-3 and the Patriots once again driving into scoring position, Herbig came up with another big play. On third-and-one, New England threw a screen pass that Herbig completely blew up for a two-yard loss. The Patriots missed the field goal on the following play, keeping it a one-score game and somehow giving the Steelers offense another chance to do something with it.
T.J. Watt continued his hot start to the season
After winning AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his Week 1 performance against the Falcons, where he had two sacks and an interception returned for a touchdown, T.J. Watt continued to get after the quarterback on Sunday. He finished the game against the Patriots with 1.5 sacks and now sits second in the NFL with 3.5 sacks through the first two games of the season.
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