New England Patriots
Rhamondre Stevenson’s fumbling woes returned, but the Patriots sacked Aaron Rodgers four times and came away with the win.
Elijah Ponder celebrates scoring a defensive touchdown in the Patriots’ win over the Steelers. Photo by Winslow Townson/Getty Images
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Report: Mike Onwenu is ‘feared’ to have suffered season-ending ankle injury
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Patriots 20, Steelers 3: Patriots defense shines in injury-riddled win
FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots controlled Sunday’s game against the Steelers from start to finish, pummeling Pittsburgh with a 20-3 victory in their home opener at Gillette Stadium.
The defense was once again dominant against the run, and the secondary handled its business without a key starter.
Rookie Gabe Jacas continued to make plays, recording an interception in the fourth quarter that dashed the Steelers’ hopes at the end of a promising drive that reached the red zone.
Getting a defensive touchdown from Elijah Ponder certainly didn’t hurt during this low-scoring affair. There weren’t any touchdown passes from Drake Maye, but the Patriots still cruised to a win.
Here are five takeaways from the action.
Injuries piling up
The Patriots won this game without A.J. Brown and Carlton Davis, who were inactive due to injuries.
New England’s tough luck with injuries continued during the game. T.J. Watt landed on Mike Onwenu’s leg while reaching for Maye in the backfield. Onwenu fell backwards over Watt and ultimately left the game on a cart. The Patriots ruled him out for the game not long afterwards.
Edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones also left the game. He suffered a shoulder injury on a sack and was unable to return.
The Patriots had another scare when Marcus Jones went down clutching his knee, but the speedy cornerback was ultimately able to return to the game.
Eli Raridon had a 30-yard catch in the first quarter, setting New England up with 1st and goal on the six. However, a penalty, a short gain, and a pair of sacks left the Patriots with 4th and goal. Andy Borregales made a 30-yard field-goal putting New England up 10-0. It was Raridon’s only catch of the day. He left with a thigh injury.
Safety Craig Woodson also left with a shoulder injury. He recorded seven tackles and a pass breakup before his exit.
Stevenson’s fumbling woes return
Stevenson’s streak of 13 consecutive games without a fumble came to a close on Sunday.
He lost a fumble on the Patriots’ opening drive, and found himself on the bench for the rest of the first half. He dodged a pair of Pittsburgh defenders after catching a screen pass from Maye, but the third one, Nick Herbig, came along and knocked the ball out.
It was Stevenson’s first fumble since the Patriots beat the Bills in Buffalo during Week 5 last year.
Three of Stevenson’s last four fumbles have come against the Steelers. He fumbled twice in a loss to Pittsburgh last year, including one that occurred at the goal line.
Last year, coach Mike Vrabel stuck with Stevenson despite the miscues. Stevenson only fumbled once more during the regular season and did not fumble at all during the playoffs.
Stevenson sat for a while, but the Patriots ultimately put him back in the game. He entered the third quarter with two carries for seven yards.
He broke off a 24-yard run late in the third quarter, which appeared to get him going. The drive stalled, though, and the Patriots settled for a field-goal attempt, which kicker Andy Borregales missed wide right from 47 yards out.
Doubs bounces back after rough debut
Romeo Doubs was in need of a bounce back performance following his catch-less debut against the Seahawks last week.
In the locker room during the week, Doubs told reporters that what’s in the past must stay in the past. On Sunday, he delivered, catching three of four targets for 96 yards.
He registered the Patriots’ longest play of the day, a 63-yard catch on a play-action pass from Maye. It was the longest catch of Doubs’s career, and according to the Patriots, the second-longest completion of Maye’s career.
Maye was on the run, but Doubs was wide open. He made the catch and sprinted until he was pushed out of bounds.
He pumped his fist after the catch — a brief celebration of success following a forgettable debut. It took him a while to get going during training camp too, but once he did, he started making plays.
Defense holds up without Carlton Davis
Davis was inactive with a neck injury, but the Patriots’ secondary was still able to blanket the Pittsburgh receivers.
The Patriots held Pittsburgh scoreless for most of the first half, and Rodgers had just over 100 yards heading into the fourth quarter.
Christian Barmore, Christian Ellis, and Joshua Farmer all recorded sacks.
Elijah Ponder put the game out of reach with a fumble recovery that went for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Ponder also had a tackle for loss on a run play.
The Patriots continued to shut down the run, holding Pittsburgh to 91 yards on the ground.
Davis started every game for the Patriots last season. Sunday was the first game he missed during his time in New England.
Maye looked better, but still had issues with underthrown passes
Unlike last week, Maye was able to preserve the Patriots’ fourth-quarter lead on Sunday.
Ponder’s scoop-and-score put the Patriots up by 17 with 13:37 remaining, so Maye didn’t have to do much to keep New England in front.
Pittsburgh had the ball in the red zone late in the third quarter, but rookie linebacker Gabe Jacas intercepted Rodgers, giving the Patriots the ball up three scores with 5:09 remaining.
Maye was off-balance on his big completion to Doubs, but he got the ball where it needed to be.
His throw to Raridon seemed to be a little short, but the rookie came back for it and made the play, drawing a flag that was eventually declined in the process. His throw to Hunter Henry on the interception fell far short of the intended target, and Pittsburgh was able to pick it off easily.
Maye finished 14-for-22 with 208 yards passing, no touchdowns, and an interception.
He has yet to hit his stride the way he did last year, but Sunday was an improvement from the opener.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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