Steelers rout Patriots at Foxboro

After spotting the Patriots a 10-3 lead midway through the second quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers came roaring back to score 30 unanswered points on their way to a 33-10 rout of New England in front of their home fans.   It was Pittsburgh’s first win at New England in over a decade, with ample credit going to the Steelers’ top ranked defense which limited the Patriots to 89 yards of total offense in the 2nd half.

New England scored first on a 2 yard Sammy Morris TD run and after trading field goals with the Steelers found themselves up 10-3 midway through the second quarter.  Pittsburgh would tie the game before halftime on a 19 yard Ben Roethlisberger TD pass to Santonio Holmes. 

In the 2nd half, the Steelers’ defense took over shutting down the Patriots potent offense and forcing five New England turnovers.  Meanwhile, another Roethlisberger TD pass and two Jeff Reed FGs put the Steelers up 23-10 entering the fourth quarter.  Pittsburgh would add another FG and a Gary Russell rushing TD to produce the final margin of victory.

Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin dismissed talk of a “rivalry” with Pittsburgh with a humorous quip:

"We heard a lot of talk about it being a rivalry. It hasn't been much of a rivalry until you win some. That's what we talked about coming up here."

QB Roethlisberger praised his team’s nasty defense which—among other things—held New England to 1-13 on third down conversions:

"It was unbelievable. You just get to the sideline, put your coat on, your hat on, and, all of a sudden, you're ready to go back on the field."

New England dropped to 7-5, and the bad news for the Patriots is that their next two games are on the road.  The good news?  They’re against the Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders who have a combined record of 5-19.  After that, they’ll return home for a 12/21 contest against the Arizona Cardinals.  Pittsburgh improved to 9-3, but have a much tougher scheduling stretch than New England with the Dallas Cowboys coming to town on Sunday.  That’ll be followed by back to back road games at division rival Baltimore and Tennessee.