By Ray Porter Jr. for Urban Media Today
FOXBOROUGH, MA–After their 31-14 loss to Seattle a week ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers made a pledge to make necessary adjustments to a defense that gave up 31 points in 2 consecutive games. 3 of those examples were the insertions of First round Draft pick Derrick Harmon and veteran inside LB Cole Holcomb into the lineup and a more effective pass rush and the result was 5 sacks and 5 turnovers en route to a 21-14 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
“Man, it’s great to win in the National Football League,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “Appreciative of the efforts today. Certainly required 60 minutes of effort in all three phases to get it done. Certainly, there’s a lot of things to work on, but it’s good to do that with a win.”
In addition to their 5 turnovers (including a forced-fumble by Holcomb), the Steelers sacked Patriots QB Derrick Moye 5 times (led by 2 from LB TJ Watt and 1 by Harmon) they also made two goal-line stands, including one that was the result of a forced-fumble by DT Cam Heyward and recovered by LB Payton Wilson.
CB Brandon Echols also added an end-zone interception for the Steelers (2-1)
From a historical standpoint, it’s the 2nd time the Steelers forced 5 turnovers against the Patriots (1-2). The first time was Nov. 30, 2008, when they won 33-10.
“Defensively I thought we were really tight in the red zone and things of that nature,” commented Tomlin. “I thought we could have been better on possession downs. Thankfully, we took the ball away from them to alleviate some of that lack of possession down success. That’s why we spend as much time practicing down in that space as we do as a collective. We’ve got to be great on defense to win the points. We’ve got to be great on offense. When you take the ball away, you get all seven points. Usually you’re fighting for four, but man, those takeaways, particularly down there, were big.”
When asked if he was surprised about the performances of Watt (2 sacks, fumble recovery) and Heyward (6 tackles, sack, forced fumble, pass defense), Tomlin replied, “Never. 97 and 90, never surprised.”
On offense, the Steelers still had their challenges and room for improvement, but because of the defensive performance, 21 points was all they needed to get the win. In the first half they marched to a 14-0 lead on TDs from RB Kenneth Gainwell and WR DK Metcalf (3 rec, 32 yards) as he caught a 12-yard pass from QB Aaron Rodgers, which gave him his 509th career TD and moved him out of a tie with former Green Bay teammate Brett Favre.
The Steelers never trailed in the game, but they saw their 14-0 lead disappear as Patriots QB Drake Moye (28/37 for 268 yards, 2 TDs INT) threw 2 TDs to tie the game. Both were to TE Hunter Henry (5 rec, 90 yards).
“His mobility is an issue, particularly in short yardage moments, fourth down and one and things of that nature,” said Tomlin of Moye. “Quarterback play I thought was a factor in some of those things. He got out on the edge on us and extended some possessions. Not that we were surprised by it, it’s a component of his game, and it’s a component of his game that we respect.”
But when the Steelers needed to be great, they were late in the 4th quarter after LB Nick Herbig sacked and forced a fumble on Moye that was recovered by Watt which led the way for Rodgers (16/23, 139 yards, 2TDs, INT) and the offense to go on a 9 plays, 62 yard drive that ended with a 17-yard TD to WR Calvin Austin III and a 21-14 lead.
“It cannot be going the way that you desire, but you’d better have enough emotion, you’d better have enough belief. You’d better stay the course to do that,” Tomlin added. “You can say the same thing about the defense in New York, and we were able to finish it at the end. Same thing with the offense today, but that’s what team is about.”
The Steelers will now return to Pittsburgh to prepare to face the 2-1 Minnesota Vikings in an NFL International Series game in Dublin, Ireland next Sunday.
“All in all, it was a good team victory. We fought for 60 minutes. We utilized a lot of people, specialization of talent, division of labor, things of that nature,” said Tomlin. “Still finding our way with the number of new people and people out and things of that nature. So, it was a good experience.”
Notes: Tomlin on Harmon, who played his first NFL regular-season game, which included a sack. “I was appreciative of his efforts, excited for him. He’s a competitor. He wanted to be out there with his teammates. I thought he represented himself well today. It’s upwards and onwards from here.”
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