FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Dominated in total yards and time of possession, the Pittsburgh Steelers held an advantage in one important category Sunday afternoon at Gillette Stadium:
The scoreboard.
Thanks to a defense that produced five turnovers, the Steelers overcame their offensive struggles and escaped with a 21-14 victory against the New England Patriots on Calvin Austin’s 17-yard touchdown catch with 2 minutes, 16 second left.
Austin’s back-shoulder catch from Aaron Rodgers was the first score since early in the second quarter for the Steelers, who blew a 14-0 lead yet improved to 2-1 with their first win here since 2008. The Patriots’ loss dropped them to 1-2.
The winning drive, which was set up by a T.J. Watt fumble recovery, covered 62 yards in nine plays, with Austin’s touchdown catch accounting for the fourth first down on the possession. They totaled just one on their previous five drives.
After allowing the Patriots to convert four times on fourth down, the Steelers made a stop at their 29 with 1:03 left to preserve the win.
The Steelers survived by forcing two turnovers in the end zone: an interception by Brandin Echols in the waning seconds of the first half, and a fumble recovery by Payton Wilson in the third quarter. Cameron Heyward had a hand in both turnovers, tipping Drake Maye’s pass on the Echols pick and then stripping running back Rhamondre Stevenson before the goal line.
Heyward also had a sack, rookie Derrick Harmon had his first NFL sack and Watt had his first two sacks of the season.
The Steelers totaled 202 yards and had the ball for just 26:40.
After a fast start that produced back-to-back touchdown drives to open the game, the Steelers offense went into hibernation. They had four drives that didn’t produce a first down and a fifth that got just one, and that was because of a pass interference penalty.
After Watt’s fumble recovery at the Steelers’ 38 midway through the fourth quarter, the offense finally got back on track.
Rodgers completed 16 of 23 passes for 139 yards with touchdown passes to DK Metcalf and Austin. He was intercepted once.
In the first half, Rodgers completed 8 of 10 passes attempts, but his second attempt of the second half was intercepted by former Steelers linebacker Robert Spillane and returned 37 yards to the Steelers 11.
Thanks to a second turnover in the red zone, the Steelers got the ball back and kept their 14-7 lead intact.
On second-and-1 from the 2, Stevenson had the ball stripped by Heyward short of the goal line. Payton Wilson recovered in the end zone for the touchback.
It was Jabrill Peppers’ turn to join the fun on the Patriots’ next possession. He forced a fumble after stuffing Antonio Gibson for no gain and then made the recovery to give the Steelers the ball at their 43.
Another three-and-out by the Steelers — their fourth in as many full possessions — the Patriots embarked on another lengthy drive. This one did not result in a fourth consecutive turnover. Instead, the Patriots drove the length of the field and scored the tying touchdown.
On fourth-and-2 from 16, Maye opened the fourth quarter by finding tight end Hunter Henry alone in the middle of the field. The result was a 16-yard touchdown pass that knotted the score 14-14. The drive spanned 88 yards on 15 plays with the Patriots converting twice on fourth down.
It was Henry’s second touchdown catch of the game.
Benefitting from a pass interference call on a long pass to Metcalf, the Steelers got a first down for the first time since early in the second quarter. It would be the only one they would get on the drive.
Maye continued to exploit the open middle of the field, finding tight end Austin Hooper on back-to-back completions that totaled 28 yards. The Patriots converted for the fourth time on fourth down and had a first down at the 33 when they committed their fifth turnover. Maye dropped back to pass and had the ball stripped by Nick Herbig as he tried to move up in the pocket. Watt recovered at the Steelers 38 with 7:41 to play.
The Steelers came out running the ball on their opening drive. Jaylen Warren carried six times for 33 yards, and Kenny Gainwell finished off the drive with a 1-yard run. The touchdown was set up by a pass interference call in the end zone when Alex Austin disrupted a third-down lob for Darnell Washington.
Cole Holcomb’s forced fumble and Darius Slay’s recovery ended the Patriots’ first drive and set up the Steelers at their 46.
A 12-yard fade to the right corner to Metcalf helped the Steelers build a 14-0 lead with 13:49 left in the half. The 12-play, 90-yard drive was aided by three penalties, including another costly one on Austin.
When the Steelers were backed up deep in their end, Rodgers fumbled on third down. Warren recovered, and it looked like the Steelers might punt until Austin was flagged for holding. The Steelers had a first down at the 19 and continued their drive. The big play was a 21-yard pass to Jonnu Smith on third and 10.
The Patriots cut the lead in half on their next possession, driving 77 yards in nine plays. The Steelers helped the cause when Echols was flagged for pass interference at the 5. On the next play, Maye lofted a play-action pass to the left side, and Henry caught it for the 5-yard touchdown.
New England got the ball back after a three-and-out and came within 2 yards of tying the score at the end of the half. A 17-play, 94-yard drive went for naught when Heyward tipped Maye’s third-down pass, and Echols intercepted in the end zone. The turnover came with 0:07 on the clock.