{"id":1004012,"date":"2026-09-18T09:18:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:18:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1004012\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T09:18:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:18:33","slug":"pittsburgh-steelers-at-new-england-patriots-week-2-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/1004012\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots: Week 2 preview"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Steelers rolling, Patriots looking to bounce back in latest matchup between franchises<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789723113_280_author_avatar.png\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"Default author avatar\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) \u2014<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"0\">During his 24 seasons with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick never held back in expressing his affinity for the <a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/steelers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"1\">From the praise he showered on the Steelers\u2019 ownership, to the team\u2019s success on the field \u2014 currently tied with New England with an NFL-best six Super Bowl wins \u2014 Belichick talked about Pittsburgh with reverence.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"2\">The past and future for both franchises will be on display in Sunday\u2019s latest matchup.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"3\">The Steelers (1-0) are coming off the successful debut of new coach Mike McCarthy following the departure of Mike Tomlin, and a vintage effort from 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers in their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/tj-watts-late-pick-6-pushes-sluggish-steelers-past-injury-laden-falcons-20-13\/73709719\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">opening win over Atlanta<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"4\">\u201cI feel really good,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cLegs feel good. Feel good moving around, and I feel like I\u2019m just going to keep on getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"5\">MORE &gt;&gt; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/steelers-schedule-2026-season\/69928021\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Steelers 2026 schedule week by week<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"6\">While the reunion between Rodgers and McCarthy has brought a new dynamic to this incarnation of the Steelers, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said the expectations are always the same when the Pittsburgh is on the opposing sideline.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"7\">\u201cI think the Steelers is the identity,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cThe Steelers are going to be the Steelers. They\u2019re big and they\u2019re long and they\u2019re going to try to force the quarterback into making mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"8\">The Patriots (0-1) will be entering their second home opener under Vrabel, the architect of New England\u2019s renaissance in the post-Tom Brady era, and with a third-year quarterback in Drake Maye whose post-Super Bowl run honeymoon appears to be over following one of the worst performances of his young career in last week\u2019s 13-10 loss to Seattle. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"9\">It marked the first time in his NFL career that Maye\u2019s thrown three interceptions in a game. Turnovers also were an issue in <a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/aaron-rodgers-throws-2-td-passes-steelers-force-5-turnovers-beat-patriots\/67987795\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">last season\u2019s loss to Pittsburgh<\/a>, in which the Patriots had five giveaways.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"10\">One option Maye won\u2019t have this week is wide receiver A.J. Brown, who left the Seattle loss with a high-ankle sprain. He has since been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least four games. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"11\">Maye said that overcoming Brown\u2019s absence must start with him.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"12\">\u201cI think based on last week I need to elevate my game in general. I\u2019m trying to be the best I can back there and strive to have games like last year where I am close to completing every pass,\u201d Maye said. \u201cIt\u2019s a team effort and realizing that a lot of guys need to step up and do extra things and strain a little bit harder for us to keep going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Need to know<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"14\">Pittsburgh (1-0) at New England (0-1)<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"15\">When\/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"16\">Latest odds: Patriots by 5<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"17\">Against the spread: Steelers 1-0; Patriots 0-0-1.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"18\">Last week: Steelers beat the Falcons 20-13; Patriots lose to the Seahawks 13-10.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"19\">Last meeting: Steelers beat the Patriots 21-14 on Sept. 21, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass,<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"20\">Series record: Patriots lead 19-17.<\/p>\n<p>Matchup to watch <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"22\">Steelers defensive line vs. Patriots offensive line: New England did a decent job protecting Maye in Week 1. But the Patriots struggled to run the ball, gaining only 109 yards (3.5 per carry) against Seattle, leaving New England ranked 17th in the NFL in rushing entering Week 2. Pittsburgh allowed Atlanta only 3.9 yards per rush in the Steelers\u2019 Week 1 win. <\/p>\n<p>Stats and stuff<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"24\">\u2014 The <a data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wtae.com\/article\/joey-porter-jr-steelers-injury-report\/73781432\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">status of Pittsburgh CB Joey Porter Jr.<\/a> is uncertain. The 26-year-old sat out Week 1 and was limited in practice this week while recovering from a back injury, all set against the backdrop of stalled contract negotiations that have put his long-term future with the team in doubt.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"25\">\u2014 Steelers LB T.J. Watt\u2019s late pick-6 against Atlanta last week put him in some pretty elite company. Watt joined Hall of Famer Julius Peppers as the only players in NFL history to have 100 sacks and 10 interceptions.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"26\">\u2014 Pittsburgh\u2019s victory in the opener marked the 164th regular-season win as a starting quarterback for Rodgers, leaving him one shy of tying former Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger for fifth on the NFL\u2019s career list.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"27\">\u2014 The Steelers are hoping to get the running game going after a shaky performance against the Falcons. Pittsburgh averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, though Jaylen Warren churned out a clock-draining first down late in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"28\">\u2014 Patriots TE Hunter Henry enters the game with 2,999 receiving yards (fourth in team history) in his six seasons in New England. With another more yard he\u2019ll join Rob Gronkowski (7,861), Ben Coates 5,471) and Russ Francis 3,157) as the only Patriot tight ends to reach 3,000.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"29\">\u2014 New England\u2019s offense could get a boost with RB TreVeyon Henderson on track to return from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined last week against the Seahawks. Henderson rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie last season.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"30\">\u2014 Pittsburgh will be the second of four straight Patriots opponents to open the season against teams that made the playoffs a year ago. New England is the ninth team in the past 40 seasons to begin its schedule with four consecutive playoff teams from the previous year.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"31\">\u2014 Vrabel is looking to avoid just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career. The Titans started 0-2 during his fifth season in Tennessee in 2022 on the way to a 7-10 finish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Steelers rolling, Patriots looking to bounce back in latest matchup between franchises FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) \u2014 During his&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1004013,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2050],"tags":[833,7,853,3478,8023,131507,1911,1167,249,2326,2094,6,23049,208,57,1636,189,8657,185,1549,1285],"class_list":["post-1004012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-england-patriots","tag-drake-maye","tag-football","tag-game","tag-last-season","tag-last-week","tag-late-matchup","tag-loss","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-newengland","tag-newenglandpatriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-career","tag-patriots","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-rodgers","tag-season","tag-steeler","tag-team","tag-week","tag-yard"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/117291300265645899","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004012\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004013"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}