Patriots tee off on Aaron Rodgers, hapless Steelers offense to bounce again from Week 1 loss

For the second time in two 2026 video games, Drake Maye wasn’t nice. On Sunday, he did not have to be.

New England’s protection teed off on Aaron Rodgers and an impotent Pittsburgh Steelers offense for a 20-3 Patriots win.

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The Patriots compelled two fumbles from the 42-yard Steelers quarterback. One among them resulted in a 36-yard loss and a fourth-and-43 punt. The second resulted in a scoop-and-score landing that prolonged New England’s result in 20-3 and iced the win.

New England ended Pittsburgh’s finest likelihood of scoring a landing with an interception of Rodgers that abruptly ended a drive that gained 72 yards on 11 performs.

When Rodgers wasn’t getting hit or turning the ball over, he confronted constant strain and struggled to maneuver Pittsburgh’s offense in any significant manner.

When his day was carried out, Rodgers had accomplished 23 of 39 passes for 187 yards (4.8 yards per try) with no touchdowns and 1 interception. He took 4 sacks and was hit seven different instances. Pittsburgh’s offense managed 235 yards on 3.5 yards per play.

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The Patriots struck first on Sunday with a 39-yard first-quarter landing run from TreVeyon Henderson in his first recreation of the season after lacking Week 1 with an ankle damage. That turned out to be all of the factors New England wanted to safe the win.

With the Patriots holding a 10-0 lead within the second quarter, Pittsburgh had a shot to get on the board with third-and-7 at New England’s 22-yard line. However Christian Elliss sacked Rodgers and compelled a fumble, setting off a mad scramble because the ball bounced again towards the Pittsburgh finish zone.

Steelers sort out Troy Fautanu ultimately recovered the ball, however the 36-yard loss doomed Pittsburgh’s scoring likelihood and compelled a punt on the following play.