LeGarrette Blount, Patriots Beat Steelers 27-16

With their momentum disappeared and the Pittsburg Steelers surging behind backup quarterback Landry Jones, the New England Patriots desperately needed something to keep them in the game.

LeGarrette Blount, Patriots Beat Steelers 27-16

Their saving grace came from familiar names: LeGarrette Blount, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. 

Blount ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns, while Brady completed 19 of 26 passes for 222 yards and two scores as the Patriots defeated the Steelers 27-16 in Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Jones played capably while filling in for Ben Roethlisberger, who watched from the sideline after undergoing left knee surgery last week.

In what was only his third career start, Jones threw for 281 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but undermanned the Steelers (4-3), who lost their second straight after their defense failed to stop Brady.

The Patriots (6-1) remained perfect since Brady returned from his four-game “Deflate-gate” suspension, and countered the Steelers’ offense with a pair of second-half touchdowns. Brady connected with Gronkowski for a 36-yard touchdown in the third quarter, then used another 37-yard catch and run by the tight end to set up Blount’s second TD run that put New England up 11 with just under 12 minutes to go.

Furthermore, Brady improved to 9-2 against Pittsburgh, throwing for 26 touchdowns and three interceptions. Most of those came against much more intimidating versions of a Steelers defense than the one he faced Sunday.

“It was good to score like that and good to make plays in the second half that we needed to,” Brady said. “They certainly made it tough on us.”

Gronkowski caught four passes for 93 yards and his 68th touchdown catch, tying Stanley Morgan for the most in franchise history.

In addition to Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh was also missing defensive end Cam Heyward. The Steelers pressured the Patriots at times behind Jones, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown. Bell finished with 149 yards of total offense, and Brown caught seven passes for 106 yards, although too often Pittsburgh settled for field goals (or field goal attempts) when they needed touchdowns.

Pittsburgh scored one touchdown in four trips to the red zone and was flagged 10 times for 85 yards, including a holding call in the second quarter that erased a touchdown pass that would have tied the game.

Instead, Chris Bowell missed a 42-yard field goal and the Steelers never truly came close to evening the score again.

“You can’t waste red zone trips, you have to come off blocks and make tackles in the run game, you can’t give up explosion plays, we did,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said afterwards. “That’s why we lost.”

Pittsburgh fell to 11-10 in games not started by Roethlisberger since 2004.

Blount, facing the Steelers for the first time since Pittsburgh cut him when he walked off the field with the clock still running in November 2014, hurt his opponents after halftime. He ran for 74 yards in the second half, including consecutive runs of 11 and 25 yards that set up Gronkowski’s eighth TD in five games against the Steelers.

The Patriots will next visit the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Steelers are off next week, then visit AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens on Nov. 6.

PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 23: LeGarrette Blount #29 of the New England Patriots rushes against Vince Williams #98 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second half during the game at Heinz Field on October 23, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)