Zappe, Patriots upset Steelers on TNF

By Chad Graff, Mark Kaboly and Mike DeFabo

Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe threw three landing passes within the first half of Thursday evening’s sport as New England held on for a 21-18 victory in opposition to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Patriots led 21-10 on the half however the Steelers have been capable of pull inside three factors because of a second-half shutout by the Steelers’ protection and a Mitch Trubisky landing run.

New England picked up their third victory of the season. Per the Amazon broadcast, the Steelers grew to become the primary group in NFL historical past to be over .500 and lose consecutive video games to groups that have been at the very least eight video games underneath .500.

Zappe linked with Ezekiel Elliott as soon as and Hunter Henry twice for scores by the primary two quarters. Pittsburgh’s offense — which was booed by followers — struggled with only one landing by Diontae Johnson earlier than the half.

Zappe completed 19-of-28 passing for 240 yards, the three touchdowns and an interception. Elliott caught seven passes for 72 yards and added 68 yards speeding.

The outcome marks a shocking turnaround for the Patriots (3-10), who misplaced their final 5 video games and sit final within the AFC East. The Steelers (7-6) drop to 3rd within the AFC North.

Zappe does his job as Patriots maintain on

The second-half droop put a damper on what was in any other case a very strong sport for Zappe. In his second begin of the season, Zappe accomplished 19 of 28 passes for 240 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He made some performs that the Patriots haven’t seen from their quarterback all season. However the second half did supply a reminder that there are limitations. The group didn’t rating within the second half and had just one drive that gained greater than 20 yards. Nonetheless, the primary half was ok that the Patriots will head into an extended weekend with a lot to construct off. — Chad Graff, Patriots employees author

Patriots protection key after offense slows

The Patriots put a lot on the plate of their protection. The particular groups was once more dangerous, having a punt blocked. Their offense was in a serious rut within the second half. The protection confronted poor subject place. However as soon as once more, the Patriots’ protection stepped up when it wanted to and obtained key stops in opposition to Trubisky and the Steelers. It’s exhausting to play this sort of soccer long-term, however for the remainder of this season, it’s how the Pats should attempt to win. Simply maintain hoping their protection can maintain enjoying like this. — Graff

Steelers fall brief in comeback try

It’s important to give the Steelers a variety of credit score for digging their method out of an enormous gap to start out the sport however additionally they deserve a variety of criticism for permitting the Patriots to maneuver up and down the sector on them, to the tune of a 21-3 lead. Having the ball with 2:44 left within the sport and having an opportunity to tie it or win it was one thing that no person noticed coming within the first half.

With Kenny Pickett out, it took some time for Trubisky to get comfy and that’s comprehensible. Nonetheless, it obtained so dangerous within the first half that the 66,000 followers at Acrisure Stadium have been calling for backup Mason Rudolph to enter the sport. The offense picked up steam when the Steelers discovered that Trubisky ought to throw horizontally as an alternative of vertically. Sadly for the Steelers, Trubisky was compelled to throw the ball down the sector on three of his final 4 throws throughout the potential game-winning/tying drive. — Mark Kaboly, Steelers senior author

Pittsburgh’s protection a priority

The Steelers’ protection entered Thursday evening because the NFL’s second-best scoring protection (19.0 factors per sport) and appeared primed for an enormous evening in opposition to a floundering Patriots offense. Nevertheless, the quite a few accidents at key positions have been pricey early. The Patriots focused a depleted inside linebacker corps on their first landing, when working again Elliott beat reserve linebacker Mykal Walker within the flat. Later, Zappe picked on nickel Chandon Sullivan, who had misplaced his job till Elijah Riley went down with damage, for an 11-yard landing to tight finish Henry.

Whereas the Steelers’ protection regrouped within the second half, the 21 first-half factors the Patriots scored with a backup quarterback ought to be regarding. The Steelers have leaned on their protection to create splash performs and maintain their struggling offense in video games this 12 months. If they’ll’t shut down one of many worst offenses within the league, it doesn’t bode effectively going ahead. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers employees author

Spotlight of the sport

Required studying

(Picture: Joe Sargent / Getty Photographs)