The new-look Pittsburgh Steelers look an awful lot like the old Steelers against the New England Patriots through one half of football. The Patriots lead the Steelers 20-0 at halftime and the Steelers don’t seem to be putting up much of a fight on either side of the football.
Offensively, the Steelers are very much a work in progress as they adjust to life without Antonio Brown. It’s clear Roethlisberger’s lack of work with these wide receivers slowed things down in the first half. Roethlisberger has only 65 passing yards and a lowly 4.6 yards per attempt.
The rushing offense has fared no better. Running back James Conner carried the ball eight times netting only 18 rushing yards. The Steelers only have four first downs with one of them coming on a penalty conversion.
Defensively things haven’t gone much better. Early in the game the Steelers tried to play more matchup up man defense but New England sorted it out fairly quickly using picks and rubs to create space.
Pittsburgh then switched to zone and the Patriots jumped to play action, taking advantage of the Steelers aggression to suck them in and throw over them. Patriots quarterback Tom Brady 194 passing yards and two passing touchdowns in the first half and has been working with no pressure from the Steelers defense.
No one is writing off the season after one half but how the Steelers respond in the second half will be telling for Pittsburgh and their mindset.
