The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to tough out a gritty win over the New England Patriots in Week 3, but it couldn't have come without the help of the defense. However, this defense wasn't particularly effective in the traditional sense.
Mike Tomlin's team allowed the Patriots to pass and run the football all over them. By the end of the game, second-year quarterback Drake Maye completed 28 of 37 passes for 268 yards while throwing two touchdowns and earning a 102.1 passer rating. Meanwhile, four New England players carried the ball a combined 29 times for 119 yards (4.1 yards per carry).
The Steelers' defense allowed 369 yards of total offense while getting crushed in time of possession in Week 3 (33:20 to 26:40). Fortunately, their ability to create takeaways proved to be enough to emerge victorious in a 21-14 contest.
The Pittsburgh Steelers relied on takeaways from the defense to beat the New England Patriots in Week 3
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a problem on offense: they're simply not efficient. Though Aaron Rodgers recorded two passing touchdowns, which moved him into fourth place all-time ahead of former teammate and Hall of Famer Brett Favre, this team could not sustain drives. And had it not been for the outrageous number of takeaways, they wouldn't have been able to put up enough points to win the game.
In addition to a big interception in the endzone from Brandon Echols that saved points for Pittsburgh, the Steelers created a whopping four forced fumbles. Somehow, they were able to recover all four. Jabrill Peppers, Payton Wilson, T.J. Watt, and Darius Slay each came up with big recoveries—often in key moments of the game.
Wilson's recovery saved a touchdown as running back Rhamandre Stevenson was about to break the plane of the endzone before veteran Cam Heyward jarred the ball loose, and Wilson recovered.
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While the takeaways were great, they can't be counted on to come like this in every game.
Pittsburgh somehow managed to beat the Patriots by just one score on a game-winning touchdown with 2:16 remaining in the fourth quarter, despite being plus four in the takeaway department.
The Steelers' big Week 3 win over New England revealed some serious issues on both sides of the ball, but it also showed that Mike Tomlin's philosophy can still win games. Pittsburgh did a tremendous job taking the ball away against the Patriots. This team now needs to work on finding its identity.