No progress for Patriots team that can’t get out of their own way

Vrabel’s ongoing endeavor relating to re-establishing the Patriots as a perennial powerhouse might be removed from simple. 

All it takes is a fast look at New England’s depth chart for that actuality to sink in. 

However as New England tries to string some momentum collectively and make linear progress following back-to-back, four-win seasons, Vrabel has harped about the “non-negotiables” can’t wane or waver — whatever the personnel out on the sphere. 

Which is what made Sunday’s setback towards the Steelers all of the extra irritating for New England’s coach. 

Any cliched responses about needing to observe movie earlier than precisely sizing up what went incorrect within the Patriots’ 21-14 loss to the Steelers wasn’t crucial.

And certain, there have been positives to be drawn from a group that could be harping extra on silver linings than tangible outcomes this fall. 

However, all of it appeared to ring hole on a day the place the baseline requirements adopted by any competent soccer program had been arduous to return by. 

“We don’t must study a lesson,” Vrabel bemoaned Sunday. “We don’t must lose a soccer recreation to know that turnovers are very arduous to beat. They erase all the great issues that you just do. They take away momentum. They take away factors, give them discipline place.

“We didn’t want to show it over as many instances as we did to study a lesson. I feel we knew that earlier than. It was very unlucky.”

For the primary time since November 2008, the Patriots had been knocked for a whopping 5 turnovers in a single — scuttling a winnable recreation towards a flawed Steelers membership. 

Past Hunter Henry (eight catches, 90 yards, two touchdowns), there have been few items on New England’s offense who might be exempt from Vrabel and his workers’s wrath on Monday morning throughout movie evaluation. 

Rhamondre Stevenson — recent off of torching the Dolphins’ defensive corps final week — noticed his ball-security woes sprout up on the worst attainable time. 

He was knocked for 2 fumbles: one on New England’s opening drive that finally resulted in a Pittsburgh landing down the opposite finish of the sphere, and one on the aim line within the third quarter that squandered what would have been a possible game-tying rating. 

“I’ve bought to carry onto the ball to have worth and put worth on this group,” Stevenson mentioned. “So, if I can’t maintain the ball, they don’t want me.”

Veteran security and established heat-seeking missile Jabrill Peppers — the kind of hard-hitting, momentum-shifting presence that New England’s roster has conveniently missed this season — popped one other pigskin unfastened within the third quarter with a thunderous hit towards Antonio Gibson.

And even with some sturdy stretches of offensive brilliance, Drake Maye was as soon as once more achieved in by vital lapses at inopportune instances with a pair of turnovers. 

“It hurts. I feel it’s a kind of issues that simply stored piling on … . It value us. It hurts. It’s one thing to study from. It’s a protracted season,” Maye mentioned. “The protection performed their butts off, and the blokes within the locker room are taking part in arduous they usually’re combating arduous. It’s powerful, and it stings simply realizing we damage ourselves, and that’s what value us.”

A 17-play, 92-yard drive that took over seven minutes of recreation motion off the clock within the second quarter ended abruptly for New England after Maye’s supposed go for Kayshon Boutte in the long run zone was plucked out of the air by Brandin Echols. 

With each Maye’s end-zone interception and Stevenson’s goal-line fumble, New England’s offense had two situations the place they introduced the ball all the best way to Pittsburgh’s two-yard line: with zero factors to finally present for it. 

Maye’s want to try to lengthen a play on a possible game-winning drive within the fourth quarter additionally led to catastrophe, as linebacker Nick Herbig chopped the ball out of the QB’s fingers for the fifth turnover of the night time. 

A bit over 5 minutes later, Aaron Rodgers broke a 14-14 stalemate with a 17-yard landing throw to Calvin Austin to offer Pittsburgh the lead for good. 

“”Quite a lot of good. And sadly, some choices that should be higher,” Vrabel mentioned of Maye. “I’m certain we’ll have to guard him higher. And simply understanding that you just don’t should win all of it on one play. There are alternatives to maneuver on and save the day within the subsequent play. You may’t put the ball in hurt’s method at that place. However definitely Drake wasn’t alone. ‘

“However there’s quite a lot of actually good issues in there, his capability to increase performs, scramble, choose up 1st downs for us, run a number of performs contained in the pocket, outdoors the pocket. There are quite a lot of good issues in there, just a few decision-making that we have to be higher.” 

As Vrabel famous, there have been loads of good issues drawn from one other irritating afternoon in Foxborough.

After a sluggish begin in all sides of the sport, each Maye and New England’s protection bounced again for prolonged stretches. 

New England closed out the sport with sizable benefits in:

• Whole yards: 368-202
• First downs: 26-17
• Fourth-down conversions: 4-of-5 for New England, 0-for-0 for Pittsburgh

New England’s defensive corps restricted Aaron Rodgers to simply 139 passing yards, whereas Pittsburgh punted or turned the ball over on 5 of its closing six possessions (excluding kneeling conditions on the half and the tip of the sport).

However, as an alternative of providing up indicators of optimism, these stats additional strengthened that New England let a victory slip by means of their grasp as soon as once more.

The Patriots’ ongoing rebuild gained’t be simple. However securing back-to-back wins for the primary time since 2022 on Sunday would have been one other step ahead for a New England roster that should begin stacking some optimistic developments. 

As an alternative, the Patriots discovered themselves partaking in a well-known train on Sunday night time: fretting over “what may have been” as an alternative of bracing for “what’s subsequent.”

 

Conor Ryan is a workers author overlaying the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Purple Sox for Boston.com, a task he has held since 2023.

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