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Patriots-Steelers Report Card: Zeke Elliott gives vintage performance originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
PITTSBURGH — The New England Patriots weren’t expected to score many points Thursday night in Pittsburgh. But not only did they score three first-half touchdowns, they upset the Steelers 21-18 at Acrisure Stadium for their third win of the season.
The offense was red-hot in the first half but cooled off considerably over the final 30 minutes of the game. Luckily for the Patriots, their defense gave another excellent performance, particularly against the run. This group has held the opponent to 20 points or fewer in five consecutive games.
Special teams was the only phase of the game that really struggled for New England.
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Overall, it was a solid outing for a Patriots team that had lost five conseuctive games entering Thursday. Which specific players and position groups stood out for good and bad reasons versus the Steelers?
Let’s get to our Week 14 grades…
Quarterback: C+
He scrambled for a key first down. He scrambled and wisely threw one out of bounds to avoid a sack. He made accurate-enough throws to JuJu Smith-Schuster and Hunter Henry — by his own admission, the 37-yarder to Smith-Schuster and the long touchdown to Henry weren’t exactly where he wanted them — for massive first-half plays. His first touchdown to Henry was well-placed high to the back of the end zone.
But a second-half pick to go along with just 44 yards passing in the final 30 minutes made this winning performance an incomplete one. Zappe also had some head-scratching first-half throws — a throw-away from a clean pocket, a late slant, an odd floater placed between Henry and Smith-Schuster — to keep this grade in the “C” range.
Running back: A
Ezekiel Elliott said after Week 13 against the Chargers — when he had to shoulder most of the load with Rhamondre Stevenson…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/patriots-steelers-report-card-zeke-195451192.html
Author : NBC Sports Boston
Publish date : 2023-12-08 19:54:51
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