Steelers vs. Patriots: 5 Surprises in Sunday’s Win

The Steelers walked into Foxborough with plenty of questions and walked out with a few unexpected answers. Sunday’s 21–14 win over the Patriots wasn’t perfect, but it was a grind.

From a turnover-heavy defensive effort to Aaron Rodgers finally breaking his New England curse, Pittsburgh found ways to capitalize—and survive. Here’s a look at five surprises that shaped the outcome in Week 3.

Steelers Defense Bounces Back Big

Despite giving up 119 rushing yards to the Patriots, and 268 passing yards to their second-year quarterback Drake Maye, the Steelers defense cam alive on Sunday. They dialed up the pressure, hitting Maye eight times. OLB Nick Herbig led the charge with four QB hits of those eight.

Former Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt snapped a slow streak of six games without a sack by getting to Maye twice. His running mates, Cameron Heyward, and Herbig, each added a sack, while rookie Derrick Harmon, playing in his first game of the season, got his first career sack in the NFL as well.

Five Turnovers by New England

Teryl Austin‘s defense not only generated chaos, but created splash plays in the wake of giving up big plays.

The Steelers defense forced four Patriots fumbles, which were all recovered by Pittsburgh. One of those fumbles occurred on the doorstep of the endzone at the Steelers two-yard line.

Yet, that wasn’t the only touchdown-saving heroics, as backup CB Brandin Echols also picked off a would-be Maye TD pass which was also from the Steelers’ two-yard line.

Rodgers Finally Wins in Foxborough

It’s hard to believe, but in 21 seasons Aaron Rodgers finally achieved something he failed to do before in his career: win at Gillette Stadium.

It was only Rodgers’ third time playing in New England, with his previous two starts also coming late in his career. One with with the Green Bay Packers in 2018, and the other was last season, as a member of the New York Jets.

Defensive Changes

A big question coming into last Sunday’s game was “How were the Steelers going to fix their defensive problems?”

While their problems are far from fixed, there were glimmers of hope with the new lineup. Jalen Ramsey and newly added Jabrill Peppers started in the safety positions, due to the injury to DeShon Elliott. Echols played as one of the outside corners in place of the injured Joey Porter Jr., while Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark were rotational DBs on Sunday.

Cole Holcomb, a sought after free agent who was injured badly in 2023 and missed all of 2024, made a triumphant return playing half of the game at inside linebacker. First round rookie Derrick Harmon also logged significant snaps with draft classmate Yahya Black. Nick Herbig also started in place of Alex Highsmith, who was ruled out during the week with an ankle injury.

The different look felt different on first and second downs, but the Steelers still have a lot of ground to gain defensively, as they were of 6-of-13 on third downs to the Patriots, and were 4-of-5 of fourth downs. They were able to create tight situations, but now have to learn to get out of them.

WR2?!

Calvin Austin III caught the game-winning touchdown and now has two on the season through three games. His 126 yards is third on the team, behind Jaylen Warren and D.K. Metcalf.

However, it’s Austin’s 15.8 yards-per-reception that’s starting to turn heads as one of the Steelers playmakers – and perhaps, solidifying his spot as the team’s second receiving option alongside Metcalf.