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Bailey Zappe and the Patriots picked up their third win of the season on Thursday night in Pittsburgh. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
Bailey Zappe got the job done.
Zappe led the New England Patriots to a much-needed 21-18 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium. Zappe threw three touchdownsin the first half en route to the win, which marked just the Patriots’ third on the season. While Zappe and the Patriots’ offense looked solid, the Steelers — led by backup Mitch Trubisky after Kenny Pickett’s ankle injury — did not.
Trubisky and the Steelers struggled badly in the first half. The Patriots jumped up to a 21-3 lead thanks to a huge interception early in the second quarter and a pair of touchdowns to tight end Hunter Henry — which made him just the fifth player in the last 30 years to record at least two touchdowns while playing on his birthday.
The Steelers finally scored right before halftime after Trubisky hit Diontae Johnson for a 25-yard score.
Pittsburgh had plenty of chances in the second half, too, but failed to convert deep in the red zone in the fourth quarter after intercepting Zappe. Miles Killebrew blocked a Patriots punt in the fourth quarter, which set the Steelers up with great field position once again. That led to a Trubisky 1-yard touchdown run, which cut the game to just three points.
That, however, is as close as they got. Even with the Patriots’ offense stalling, Trubisky and the Steelers failed twice on fourth down. The Patriots edged out the three-point win.
Trubisky went 21-of-34 for 169 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss for pittsburgh. He was also the team’s leading rusher with 30 yards and a score on eight carries. Johnson had 57 yards on three receptions.
Zappe went 19-of-28 for 240 yards with three touchdowns and an interception for the Patriots. Ezekiel Elliott had 68 yards on 22 carries, and JuJu Smith-Schuster had 90 yards on four carries.
The Steelers, though hanging on in…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/thursday-night-football-bailey-zappe-patriots-hang-on-late-to-beat-steelers-234022354.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2023-12-07 23:40:22
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