The New England Patriots took care of business Thursday evening, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers by a final score of 28-14 21. The game got off to a scoreless start through the first quarter, but the Patriots quickly jumped on the board early in the second quarter. The Steelers had some opportunities to keep the game close, but their offense just could not take advantage of opportunities.
The big story was the Tom Brady-Rob Gronkowski connection. They connected for three touchdowns as the Steelers could not find a way to contain Gronk. I would not say the Steelers secondary was horrific, but it is a definite weakness on a team looking to make some noise this winter. They gave up 288 yards, as Tom Brady finished 25 of 32. Gronk had 94 yards, wide receiver Julian Edelman had 97 yards, and running back Dion Lewis had 51 yards.
Of course, it is probably not entirely fair to fully assess them against a guy like Gronk. He's kind of a great tight end. The Steelers host our San Francisco 49ers next week. The 49ers kind of have something to get through on Monday when they host the Minnesota Vikings, but we can ponder that Week 2 matchup without completely looking past the Vikings. This Steelers squad has a lot of offensive talent, but there are question marks on defense. The 49ers need to actually get to 1-0 first, but it could make for an interesting matchup in Pittsburgh.