The Patriots, in the end, ran out of gas.
They dropped more balls. They lost more fumbles. And they lost all of the confidence they seemed to have collected over the last six weeks with Matt Cassel.
If you’ve got a complaint, send it here.
I was wrong. I thought they had enough to be a good Steelers [...]
The Patriots are down 26-10 with 5:39 remaining.
They need two TDs, two 2-point conversions.
It doesn’t look good. Cassel played probably his poorest game of his short career. But finishes like this can fix everything.
Stay tuned.
The Patriots defense stepped up and held the Steelers to a field goal, and keeping the sgame within striking distance.
Now it’s up to Matt Cassel. Field goals and the running game, at least for now, are out the window.
Cassel must play near perfectly if the Patriots are going to win this.
The Patriots were faced with first and goal from the nine on the Steelers first drive of the third quarter and they survived, forcing Ben Roethlisberger to throw the ball away twice.
But that great series of three plays was trumped by rookie Matt Slater, who was replacing Ellis Hobbs as the deep man on the [...]
1. Patriots need to establish the line of scrimmage and make the game shorter. This means more runs and less passes.
2. Cassel needs to be more accurate.
3. Patriots defense needs to force a turnover or two. This is a must if they are to win.
4. Continue to find ways to pressure Roethlisberger with extra rusher [...]
A few thoughts about the first half:
1. The score is tied but Steelers win the first half.The Patriots controlled the play for most of the half, but the score didn’t show it, which gives the edge to the Steelers who clawed their way back from being down possibly 14-3, holding the Patriots to FG and [...]
The official number is 34, as in degrees.
The Patriots, since 1993, the year Bill Parcells arrived, are 23-3 when temperatures are 34 degrees or below.
It is 33 degrees here as the second quarter begins.
The Patriots wasted no time making plays. On the opening kickoff, Carey Davis fumbled after being hit, but it was recovered by the Steelers.
Anyway, from there it was all downhill over the 170 seconds as Mike Vrabel picked off a short Ben Roethlisberger pass on 3rd-and-7, setting up a 2-yard TD run by Sammy Morris.
By [...]
My guess is that this is against the norm, especially the point total and the weather.
But I think the Patriots are ready to make their run. It started last week in Miami, which is a tough place to win even when the Dolphins are awful.
I think the Patriots are going to surprise the Steelers by [...]
This is perfect weather for an important football game.
Thick raindrops. Lots of wind. Chill in the air.
The Steelers and Patriots will no doubt play a physical game.
Here are the inactives:
Patriots
Kelley Washington WR
LaMont Jordan RB
Wesley Britt T
Billy Yates G
Tyson DeVree TE
Ty Warren DL
Adalius Thomas LB
Steelers
Bryant McFadden CB
Fernando Bryant CB
Najeh Davenport RB
Bruce Davis RB
Tony Hills OT
Marvel Smith [...]
Eagle-Tribune Executive Sports Editor Bill Burt has been synonymous with the local and Boston sports scene for the past 24 years.
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