Fumble recoveries were the difference today in New England, as the Patriots largely outplayed the Steelers but came out behind thanks to Pittsburgh recovering all five fumbles.
The Patriots fumbled four times. The Steelers recovered them all. The Steelers fumbled once, and recovered their own fumble. Those five loose balls all ending up in the Steelers’ hands was the difference in a 21-14 Steelers win.
Fumble recoveries are more a matter of luck than skill, but today was a day when, for the Steelers, it was better to be lucky than good.
The Patriots did plenty of good, out-gaining the Steelers 368 yards to 202 and 26 first downs to 17. The Patriots also went for it on fourth down five times and converted the first four, but came up a yard short on their final fourth down attempt, which was their final offensive play.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was nothing special, completing 16 of 23 passes for 139 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, but the offense did just enough against a Patriots team that kept giving the Steelers the ball. The win improves the Steelers’ record to 2-1 and the Patriots dropped to 1-2.
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