Today In Patriots History 2015: Another Banner Night, Another Win Over Pittsburgh

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Brady throws four TD, three to Gronk
Pats beat Steelers 28-21 in season opener​

Thursday Sept 10, 2015 at 8:40
Week 1, Game 1 at Gillette Stadium
New England Patriots 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 21
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin
QBs: Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger
Odds: New England favored by 7


The Patriots have had six season-opening, raise-the-new-banner games. Three of those games have been against Pittsburgh - with the Pats defeating the Steelers each time. Tom Brady set an NFL record for the most regular season wins (161) by a quarterback with one franchise, breaking the record set by Brett Favre. He also set a team record with 19 straight completions, and he had his 23rd game with four or more touchdown passes, third all-time along with Favre. Brady completed 25 of 32 passing attempts for four touchdowns and 288 yards in the win; three of those TD passes were caught by Rob Gronkowski.

All four touchdown passes went to tight ends: three to Gronk, plus one to new Patriot TE, Scott Chandler.

Brady almost did not play in this game. Just a week earlier, Judge Richard Berman vacated the NFL's suspension of Brady in the Deflategate case, citing a lack of fair due process. NFL lawyer Daniel Nash had admitted in court that there was "no direct evidence Mr. Brady clearly knew about" any deflating of footballs while also stating that that there was no "smoking gun" or that there was any evidence that Brady had any direct knowledge that footballs were deflated.

The norm is for the commissioner to attend the season opening football game. Roger Goodell wimped out, stating that he would attend some random Sunday game instead. The festive crowd taunted Goodell with incredibly loud "Where Is Roger" chants. The game ranked as the second most-watched ''NFL Kickoff'' game ever.

After the game Mike Tomlin complained about the headsets; instead of being able to communicate with other coaches, the headsets were broadcasting Scott Zolak and the Patriots radio broadcast. ESPN and typical mediots like Tony Dungy made implications that it was some sort of conspiracy by the Patriots. What the media did not say was that (a) the Patriots had the same problem, and that (b) the headsets arre controlled by the NFL, not the team. The league blamed the issue on the power at the stadium, compounded by the inclement weather. Once the NFL got those problems sorted out, the issues didn’t return - for either team. So much for that conspiracy theory.

As for the game itself, it was not as close as the final score would indicate. Pittsburgh scored a touchdown with seven seconds remaining in the game, a meaningless play - except for those that were betting on the game.

Dion Lewis runs past Steelers LB Ryan Shazier in the second half
Lewis gained 120 yards from scrimmage:
69 yards rushing on 15 carries, and 51 yards on four receptions​

Brady, Gronkowski Sharp As Patriots Down the Steelers 28-21 in Opener | PatsFans.com

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski set the tone early in the Patriots opening night 28-21 win over the Steelers. Brady threw 4 TDs and Gronk caught 3 of them

www.patsfans.com

GoLocalProv | Sports | 5 Takeaways From the Patriots 28-21 Win Over Pittsburgh

The New England Patriots (1-0) defeated the (0-1) Pittsburgh Steelers 28-21 on Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. Prior to game, the Patriots unveiled their 2014 Super Bowl championship banner with team owner Robert Kraft bringing out the fourth Lombardi Trophy.

www.golocalprov.com

Malcolm Butler​

The big matchup of the game was Pittsburgh's top receiver Antonio Brown against the Patriots top new corner Malcolm Butler. Brown had nine receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in the game.​

However, the touchdown came in garbage time and on the majority of his receptions were well covered by Butler. Butler had a good showing for the Patriots tonight, despite the stats from Brown, an All pro who led the NFL in receptions (129) and yards receiving (1,698) in 2014.​

Patriots 28, Steelers 21: 5 Plays That Tell The Story

You could boil just about any football game down to a handful of plays. Here are 5 plays from Patriots - Steelers that tell the whole story.

www.cbsnews.com

The Patriots are on a mission to prove doubters wrong and shove it back in the faces of their many enemies like never before, after the insufferable off-season that until the last days brought the accomplishments of the team's entire decade-plus run into question - or dismissed them altogether.​

Football is truly a game of inches, and you could boil just about any football game down to a handful of plays that tell you everything you need to know about how it went down. Just one or two plays could make all the difference, or serve as a microcosm of the full 60 minutes. And no, it doesn't involve headsets.​

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Gronk had three touchdowns on the night, the Steelers defense looked overmatched on all of them, and it was ultimately the difference in the game. But on the first one, they just had a complete defensive breakdown. As disorganized as your defense can be, how do you leave THAT player wide open, of all people?​

The Steelers didn't only have miscues on defense. While Ben Roethlisberger was sharp and they made a lot of plays down the field, Darrius Heyward-Bey blew an easy touchdown because he couldn't keep his feet - no, his toes in bounds on the catch.​

The Steelers also tried an early double-pass play with Antonio Brown that derailed their opening drive and needlessly shifted momentum to the Patriots' side. Not the kind of thing you see from an organized, well-coached team. Or receivers with instincts.​

In N.F.L Opener, Tom Brady Gets Another Victory, This One on the Field (Published 2015)

Brady, who spent months fighting the N.F.L. over a suspension that was ultimately overturned, threw four touchdown passes as the Patriots opened with a win over the Steelers.

www.nytimes.com

Brady connected with seven receivers, completing 25 of 32 passes for 288 yards and four touchdowns as the Patriots beat the Steelers, 28-21. Late in the game, Gronkowski capped New England’s scoring with his third touchdown catch.​

At one point, Brady completed 19 consecutive passes, a franchise record.​

Patriots-Steelers: 10 things to know from New England's 28-21 win

Tom Brady was unstoppable against the Steelers.

www.cbssports.com

On first-and-10 from the Patriots' 24, the Steelers tried a trick play with Antonio Brown. Brown was going to throw the ball, but before he could get a pass off, he was taken down for an eight-yard loss. The Steelers drive stalled after that.​

Patriots 28-21 Steelers (Sep 10, 2015) Game Recap - ESPN

Expert recap and game analysis of the New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers NFL game from September 10, 2015 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

5:24 Official NFL Highlights
Steelers vs. Patriots | Week 1 Highlights | NFL



15:43 Highlight Video
Gronk TAKES OVER Opening Night! (Steelers vs. Patriots, 2015 Week 1)



1:56:30 Full Game
2015 Week 1: Steelers @ Patriots
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Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:

2015 New England Patriots Rosters, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Check out the 2015 New England Patriots Roster, Stats, Schedule, Team Draftees, Injury Reports and more on Pro-Football-Reference.com.

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[Pape]

i love beating the steelers

nothing tops the "better team didn't win" video board trolling in the 2002 season opener...

 

[jmt57]

Today in Patriots History
Ty Warren's Sack for a Safety Saves the Day
Pats squeak by Buffalo 19-17 in season opener​

Sunday Sept 10, 2006 at 1:00
Week 1, Game 1 at Gillette Stadium
New England Patriots 19, Buffalo Bills 17
Head Coaches: Bill Belichick, **** Jauron
QBs: Tom Brady, J.P. Losman
Odds: New England favored by


On the first play from scrimmage Takeo Spikes strip sacked Tom Brady and London Fletcher ran it in for a Buffalo lead - 34 seconds into the game. The Patriots were down 17-7 at the half but came back on a 17-yard TD pass from Brady to Kevin Faulk in the third quarter. After a 32-yard field goal by rookie Stephen Gostkowski, three plays later the winning points came midway in the fourth quarter on a Ty Warren sack for a safety. The Pats defense limited the Buffalo offense to five punts, a turnover on downs and the safety after surrendering ten points on their first two drives.

Laurence Maroney averaged 5.1 yards per carry (86 yards) in his NFL debut, and Corey Dillon had 73 yards on 16 carries (4.6 ypc). Ben Watson added 50 yards on three receptions in the win.

For safety’s sake

It was a first at Gillette Stadium yesterday — Tom Brady was booed. The groans and jeers were warranted during a shabby first half, and Brady heard the crowd’s unhappiness loud and clear. “I don’…

www.telegram.com

It was a first at Gillette Stadium yesterday — Tom Brady was booed.​

The groans and jeers were warranted during a shabby first half, and Brady heard the crowd’s unhappiness loud and clear.​

“I don’t blame them,” Brady said. “I don’t think we gave them much reason to cheer. I would be booing up there, too, if I was them.”​

The final score of the 2006 season opener — a 19-17 Patriots victory over Buffalo — did allow fans to leave happy, or maybe relieved is a better word. Brady, who otherwise played poorly, directed two second-half scoring drives, Don Davis made a crucial tackle and Ty Warren sacked Bills quarterback J.P. Losman for a safety to provide the margin of victory and cap a strong second-half effort by the Patriots defense.​

The Patriots can take some satisfaction in their running game, which produced 183 yards. Corey Dillon and exciting rookie Laurence Maroney (17-86) combined for 159 of them. Kevin Faulk caught a 17-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.​

Safety squeeze

FOXBORO — The scoreboard looming over JP Losman as he scrambled behind the Bills' own goal line showed a tie game. Ty Warren was determined to change that. ''My priority was to get him in the end z…

www.capecodtimes.com

The scoreboard looming over JP Losman as he scrambled behind the Bills' own goal line showed a tie game. Ty Warren was determined to change that.​

''My priority was to get him in the end zone,'' the Patriots defensive end said. ''We're tied up, so I'm thinking, 'Let me get this dude.'''​

Losman went down, the official's arms went up and New England beat Buffalo 19-17 yesterday with poise under pressure and defensive pressure.​

Warren's safety with 8:33 left completed a comeback from a poor start that had the Patriots trailing 17-7 at halftime.​

New England cut the lead to 17-14 with 2:52 left in the third quarter on Brady's 17-yard pass to Kevin Faulk after Buffalo went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots 7-yard line and the line stopped Willis McGahee for no gain.​

The pressure was on again when Stephen Gostkowski, the rookie replacing Adam Vinatieri, connected on a 32-yard field goal that tied the game at 17 with 9:33 remaining.​

Exactly one minute later, the Patriots took the lead for good on the third play of Buffalo's possession.​

On the first two plays, Losman threw the ball away under a heavy rush and Willis McGahee was thrown for a 1-yard loss. Then Losman dropped about 4 yards into the end zone as linebacker Tully Banta-Cain rushed from Losman's left and got a hand on the quarterback. Warren, charging in from the other side, tackled Losman for the safety.​

On the third play of the Bills' next possession, Richard Seymour sacked Losman for a 6-yard loss, Brian Moorman punted and the Patriots held the ball for the remaining 6:15.​

Buffalo dominated early, starting with the sack by Spikes.​

The Patriots tied it 7-7 on their next possession on Brady's 9-yard scoring pass to Troy Brown. Buffalo regained the lead on Rian Lindell's 53-yard field goal then made it 17-7 on an 18-yard run by Anthony Thomas.​

17:39 Highlight Video
2006-09-10 Buffalo Bills vs New England Patriots



2:16:34 Full Game
Bills @ Patriots 2006
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Box Score, Stats and Full Play-by-Play:

Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots - September 10th, 2006 | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Buffalo Bills 17 at New England Patriots 19 on September 10th, 2006 - Full team and player stats and box score

www.pro-football-reference.com