NEW: Patriots Cruise Past Steelers 33-3 in Season Opener
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NEW: Patriots Cruise Past Steelers 33-3 in Season Opener
The New England Patriots cruised past the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-3 on Sunday night at Gillette Stadium in the season opener.
New England opens the season with a record of 1-0, while Pittsburgh starts 0-1.
"It was the first game. It’s good to start 1-0. Some guys made some big plays. I loved how Phil [Dorsett] played, Josh [Gordon] made plays, Jules [Julian Edelman] did – I think the receiving group – so it was some good things to build on and try to improve it next week," said Patriots quarterback Tom Brady after the game.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBrady is now 6-0 all-time against the Steelers in Foxboro.
Overall, New England has won five of the last six meetings with Pittsburgh.
Trick Play Sparks Patriots Offense
The Patriots offense got off to a sluggish start early in the first quarter, however, it was a trick play that sparked them.
With just over five minutes left in the quarter, Brady threw to Julian Edelman in the flat and then Edelman threw it back across the field to running back James White who ran 32 yards to the Steeler 20-yard line.
On the very next play, Brady connected with Josh Gordon on a 20-yard touchdown pass to give New England a 7-0 lead after a Stephen Gostkowski extra point.
On the play, Gordon broke a tackle before finding his way into the end zone. He finished with three catches for 73 yards and a score.
From that point, the Patriots offense cruised.
Following a Gostkowski 35-yard field goal to make the score 10-0 in the second quarter, Brady threw a 25-yard strike to Phillip Dorsett to put New England up 17-0 with 3:49 left in the half following a Gostkowski extra point.
Gostkowski would add another field goal just before the half to give New England a 20-0 lead at the break.
In the third, Pittsburgh cut New England’s lead to 20-3, but that is as close as they would get.
On the Patriots next possession, Brady fired a 58-yard touchdown pass to Dorsett to push the lead to 27-3 after a Gostkowski extra point.
Brady completed 24 of 36 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns in the game.
Gostkowski would add two more field goals to make the score 33-3 in the fourth quarter.
Patriots Defense Dominates
The Patriots defense continued the dominance that they showed throughout the preseason and in training camp.
The Patriots held the Steelers to just three points and less than 300 total yards.
New England also recorded one sack and an interception in the game.
“I think our ability to adjust and communicate out there helped us out a lot on defense, and that's something that we just have to continue to work on and get better because teams are going to do different things. I think it helps,” said Patriots safety Devin McCourty in his post-game press conference.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick added, “I thought our defensive players played well across the board. It's hard to get to [Ben] Roethlisberger. He does a good job back there, but I thought we were around him and covered well, tackled well. Again, this is a very good group of skill players. Our players really competed hard against them today. We had a couple of big third-down stops, fourth-down stops, a stop down around the goal line. We made some big plays when we had to."
The Patriots defense did all of this without Kyle Van Noy, who missed the game due to the birth of his child.
Next Up
The Patriots return to action on Sunday, September 15 when they visit the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins lost 59-10 to Baltimore on Sunday.
Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Patriots Most Controversial Signings in the Belichick Era
Randy Moss
The super talented Moss had controversies going back to high school -- here are just a few of the low lights.
In 1995, “After signing a letter of intent to play his college football at Notre Dame, Moss took part in a racially-motivated fight at his high school in Belle, West Virginia. Moss pled guilty to battery and received probation and a 30-day suspended jail sentence. Because of the incident, Notre Dame revoked his scholarship,” recapped Liveabout.
Then, in 1996, as he was serving a 30-day jail sentence related to the previous fight, Moss tested positive for marijuana, violating his probation. He was released from the Florida State football program and served 60 extra days in jail for the probation violation.
In 2002, "When playing for the Minnesota Vikings, he was arrested after an incident in downtown Minneapolis in which he bumped a traffic control officer with his car, knocking her to the ground. He was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and perform 40 hours of community service. Marijuana was allegedly found in his vehicle as well, but charges were later dropped."
Corey Dillon
The running back had played seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals and was considered a malcontent and had been arrested on charges of fourth-degree assault.
He was more than controversial in Cincinnati, to say the least.
He played three seasons with the Patriots and won a Super Bowl in 2004.
Josh Gordon
Maybe no one in the history of professional sports has been suspended more times for drug use.
His problems began in middle school and continued through high school and at Baylor University. He has been disciplined more than ten times.
"Gordon grew up with two older brothers in the Fondren neighborhood of southwest Houston, his family bouncing from apartment to apartment, he says, as eviction notices piled up, rarely able to turn on the lights. He describes being thrown out of two middle schools for stealing electronics from other students. He says he began smoking marijuana in seventh grade, taking Xanax in eighth—and still he managed to land a basketball scholarship to the private Westbury Christian School. He made it to 10th grade before he was thrown out of there as well," reported Sports Illustrated.
Christian Peter
The Patriots' fifth-round choice, Christian Peter of Nebraska, had a lengthy history of violence against women.
Myra Kraft weighed-in and insisted the Patriots relinquished Peter's rights only a week after the draft.
Peter had multiple run-ins with the law for numerous crimes including threatening a parking attendant while his vehicle was being towed, trespassing, public urination, refusing to comply with police, minor in possession of alcohol, and failure to appear in court. He was convicted four times. He was accused of sexual assault twice.
Albert Haynesworth
Haynesworth made Moss look like a boy scout. The Patriots signed him for the 2011 season. He played just 6 games.
According to Boston.com, Wikipedia and USA Today, here are a list of Haynesworth's controversies.
2000
As a sophomore at Tennessee, he fights with teammate Will Ofenheusle and leaves practice, only to return later with a pole looking for Ofenheusle. He is stopped by coach Phillip Fulmer and suspended for a half-game.
2002
In his rookie season with the Titans, he fights with teammates during back-to-back practices.
2003
He sparks a brawl at practice by kicking center Justin Hartwig in the chest, and is fined by coach Jeff Fisher. The next day, he fights with teammate Matt Martin and has a verbal exchange with Fisher. He is deactivated for the season finale but plays in the playoff game vs. Ravens.
2004
He skips the team’s offseason workouts, including its voluntary workout program, and a minicamp in May.
2005
For a late hit on Raiders QB Kerry Collins, Haynesworth is fined $5,000.
2006
He is suspended for five games by the NFL for kicking Cowboys center Andre Gurode’s helmet off, and a second kick opens a gash over Gurode’s right eye that requires 30 stitches. The discipline is the longest in modern league history for an in-game incident.
He is charged with reckless endangerment after being accused of trying to run a car off the road. Charges are later dropped.
2007
He is fined $5,000 after slamming Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew to the ground in the season opener (he was called for unnecessary roughness on the play).
2008
He goes before a grand jury after being clocked going more than 100 miles per hour in a 70-m.p.h. zone.
He is fined $5,000 for an unnecessary hit on Chargers QB Philip Rivers in a playoff game. The hit fuels a drive that puts San Diego ahead for good.
2009
He is indicted on two misdemeanor traffic charges from an accident in Tennessee that left a driver in another car partially paralyzed. Police allege Haynesworth was driving his Ferrari more than 100 m.p.h. when he collided with another car.
2010
Haynesworth is sued by Clayton Bank & Trust for allegedly failing to make payment on a $2.38 million commercial loan.
He shows up for preseason practices out of shape after complaining about playing nose tackle in the Redskins’ 3-4 defense. Coach Mike Shanahan prohibits him from practicing until he passes a fitness test. It takes several weeks to pass the test and Haynesworth has no impact on the Washington defense. He is suspended for the final four games of the season for conduct detrimental to the team.
Haynesworth is sued for $10 million by a New York stripper who claims he fathered her child and he refuses to pay child support.
Also, he is accused of punching a man in the face after a traffic altercation. He reaches an out-of-court settlement with the alleged victim.
2011
He is indicted for sexual assault after allegedly fondling a waitress at a Washington hotel. His trial is set to begin Aug. 23.
PHOTO: Albert Haynesworth PHOTO: U.S.Military Michael A. Lantron
Rodney Harrison
Dirty player?
That is his tag.
"Harrison had already gained notoriety for being a dirty player with the San Diego Chargers. Then he joined the Patriots dynasty of the 2000s and gave his detractors all the more reason to dislike him. Harrison was fined more than $200,000 for his playing style during his career," according to 24/7 Sports who tags Harrison as one of the most hated players in the NFL.
PHOTO: Rodney Harrison, Patriots PHOTO: SNSAnchor
LeGarrette Blount
From sucker-punching an opponent in college to problems in the pros, Blount was another problem child.
As a member of the Titans in August 2010, "Blount was involved in another incident in which he threw a punch, this time at teammate defensive end Eric Bakhtiari, a few moments after having his own helmet ripped off in practice.
Blount quickly talked to Titans head coach Jeff Fisher before leaving the field. "He apologized, and I said he didn't have to apologize," Fisher said. "It's football. It's training camp. . . . His past is his past. Is that the first punch you've seen in camp this year? No. I'm not disappointed whatsoever. I have great confidence in the young man that he learned from his mistake, and he's very competitive. That's why we brought him in here is to watch him run the football like that," according to the Grio.com.
He won Super Bowls both with the Patriots and with the Eagles against the Patriots.
