Steelers gamble away their season
Crisis giant New England surprises Pittsburgh
December 8, 2023, 6:13 a.m
The third defeat in the fourth game, and that against the New England Patriots, who had previously won five games: The NFL season is threatening to slip away completely from the Pittsburgh Steelers after a good start. The Patriots finally have a quarterback making positive headlines again.
The New England Patriots ended their losing streak in the NFL and surprisingly beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. After five bankruptcies, the series winner of the last decade, led by star coach Bill Belichick, who was deep in crisis, won 21:18. In the 13th game of the season it was only the 3rd victory for the Patriots, in which substitute Bailey Zappe was once again allowed to play as quarterback. His three touchdown passes all came in the first half. The Patriots then saved their 21-3 lead.
The Steelers, on the other hand, squandered further credit for their good start to the season with their third defeat in the last four games and are in danger of losing touch with the playoff places. The Steelers had already lost 10:24 against the Arizona Cardinals against a team with only two wins up to that point. With the Indianapolis Colts, the Cincinnati Bengals, the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens, only teams with playoff ambitions face Pittsburgh in the remaining four games.
Zappe, who had recently replaced the pitiful and completely insecure Mac Jones, recorded a total of 240 yards through passes, JuJu Smith Schuster had 90 yards against his former team, making him the most successful pass receiver of the day. Ezekiel Elliot also had a good night with 22 carries for a total of 68 yards.