FOXBORO — All DeMario Douglas needed to do was run ahead.
Dealing with a fourth-and-1 from the Pittsburgh 28-yard line with 1:07 remaining, Drake Maye accomplished a fast go to Douglas within the flat. The Patriots slot receiver caught the ball simply shy of the road to achieve with two Steelers defenders converging.
Fairly than driving his manner towards the sticks, Douglas stepped backward, attempting to keep away from cornerback Brandin Echols and linebacker Patrick Queen. Echols wrapped him up within the backfield. Ballgame.
Two Aaron Rodgers kneeldowns gave Pittsburgh a 21-14 win over mistake-prone New England, which had transformed on every of its first 4 fourth-down alternatives.
Head coach Mike Vrabel mentioned after the sport that Douglas ought to have been seeking to get upfield on the play.
“In all probability have to only drop-step and be capable of knife,” Vrabel mentioned. “Know these are going to be bang-bang performs and attempt to cut up them and get the primary down. It’s onerous to circle round some defenders. I didn’t have the perfect view of it. I might say that the choice that Pop made wasn’t the correct one there simply because we didn’t get it. Obtained to attempt to both drop-step or make them miss.”
Douglas mentioned he knew he was “someplace by” the first-down marker however thought the defender was nearer to him.
“In all probability knife, go straight up,” he mentioned, echoing Vrabel. “I assumed (the defender) was proper behind me, in order that’s what made me transfer.”
Maye blamed himself for not reminding Douglas and the Patriots’ different pass-catchers of the sport state of affairs.
“I used to be anticipating stress, anticipating to get one thing out fast,” Maye mentioned. “I want I might have instructed these guys, fourth-and-1, simply attempt to catch it and get upfield. I want I might have instructed them that within the huddle. These little issues go a great distance. Yeah, nothing Pop did flawed. Simply, he was attempting to make a play. I want I might have — we had been anticipating some sort of blitz look. I feel they performed some blitz entice deal. Shoot, that’s simply the league.”
The close to miss ended each a irritating recreation for the Patriots — who turned the ball over 5 instances for the primary time since 2008 — and one other quiet outing for Douglas.
New England’s main wideout in 2023 and ’24, Douglas has caught simply 5 passes on 13 targets for 13 yards and one landing by way of three video games this season. Towards Pittsburgh, he completed with two catches on 5 targets for 7 yards, his timing with Maye typically wanting misaligned.
The Patriots’ 5 lively broad receivers mixed for simply 93 yards on 12 receptions in Sunday’s loss, with the majority of Maye’s manufacturing approaching throws to tight finish Hunter Henry (eight catches, 90 yards, two touchdowns).
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