The New England Patriots proved to be their worst enemy this Sunday, losing 21-14 to the Pittsburgh Steelers at Gillette Stadium. Despite outgaining Pittsburgh 369-203 in total yards, and dominating the time of possession, the Patriots turned the ball over five times, including twice in the red zone, erasing multiple scoring chances that could have turned the tide in the Patriots’ favor.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel put it very matter-of-factly after the game. “Turnovers are very hard to overcome. They erase all the good things that you do. They take away momentum. They take away points, give them field position,” Vrabel said.
Running back Rhamondre Stevenson had two fumbles, continuing the pattern of ball-security problems that caused him trouble last year. Additionally, running back Antonio Gibson also fumbled, giving Pittsburgh good field position. The Patriots had one too many chances, but preventable mistakes led to their loss.
For Hingham High student Aliraza Zadi, the loss was especially aggravating. “It’s really annoying to see the Patriots beat themselves. We actually played a lot better than the Steelers in a lot of ways, but the turnovers pretty much sealed our fate,” he said. His point perfectly reflects the stats: New England moved the ball more efficiently than Pittsburgh, but easy giveaways killed their progress.
For the Patriots, this story is nothing new. Over the past few seasons, New England has repeatedly lost games they could’ve won. Just a handful of bad plays shifted the outcome of the game, turning potential wins into sour defeats. That pattern has fans wondering: will this be a repeat of last year, or can first year head coach Mike Vrabel finally flip the script for the Patriots?
Some of the answers can be found in quarterback Drake Maye. The second-year quarterback shows some promising features, but he needs consistent protection from the offensive line, which proved to be a real issue, getting sacked 5 times by the Steeler’s defense. Tristan Cambpell summed up the offensive struggles: “Our offense was a mess, with the fumbles, and the offensive line not doing their job to protect Drake Maye, it was a tough game to watch as a Pats fan.”
If Maye can continue developing as a quarterback and the Patriots can clean up penalties and turnovers, there’s still a reason to be hopeful. This is a capable team that only needs some fine-tuning to get back on track. With a spot in the playoffs still in reach, the question is whether discipline and execution will finally catch up to their talent.
