Steelers’ ‘D’ too much for Pats
Pittsburgh forces five turnovers
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Steelers snapped the Patriots’ spell over them with a plan that has worked all season: Knock ’em down, steal the ball and keep them from gaining yards.
Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense got rolling in the second half, leading the Steelers to a 33-10 win on a cold and rainy Sunday, only their second victory in eight games against New England.
“We heard a lot of talk about it being a rivalry,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “It hasn’t been much of a rivalry until you win some. That’s what we talked about coming up here.”
The Steelers outscored the Patriots, 23-0, in the second half, when they had all five of their takeaways and four of their five sacks and gave up 81 yards to a team that had gained more than 500 in each of its two previous games.
“They had to start passing the ball and we didn’t have to sit back and try and guess what they were doing,” said James Harrison, who sacked Matt Cassel twice, forcing fumbles. “We just pinned our ears back and went at them.”
The Steelers (9-3) got two scoring passes from Ben Roethlisberger and four field goals from Jeff Reed and lead Baltimore by one game in the AFC North.
The Patriots (7-5) gained only 267 yards and remained a game behind the New York Jets in the AFC East. They’re tied with Miami in the division and trail Indianapolis and Baltimore by one game in the wild card race.
“A couple of weeks ago, all the games became must wins,” said Sammy Morris, who scored the Patriots’ only touchdown.
Pittsburgh hasn’t allowed more than 290 yards in any game this season and held New England to one conversion on 13 third-down plays.
“The weather didn’t matter,” New England’s Kevin Faulk said. “The turnovers were frustrating. You can’t do that and win in this league.”
Cassel was 19 of 39 for 169 yards and no touchdowns against Pittsburgh after throwing for at least 400 yards in his past two games.
He lost his leading receiver when Wes Welker left late in the third quarter after being leveled by safety Ryan Clark. There was no update on his condition. Clark was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the play.
Harrison forced fumbles by Cassel on his two sacks, which gave him 14 for the season.
“That’s what we’ve come to expect from him,” Tomlin said.
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