Patriots News, 9-21, A Chance For A Winning Streak, NFL Picks
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Posted Under: 2025 Patriots Season
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Good morning. Here is your Patriots news, 9-21, and NFL notes this week. The Patriots return home after beating Miami in Week 2 and take on their AFC rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Aaron Rodgers this week, with a chance to actually have an honest to goodness winning streak with a win today.
But first, it was a Saturday to remember as both Bill Parcells and Julian Edelman were inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.
Parcells spoke about how New England was his first NFL job and the coaching staff was loaded with NFL greats. And he thanked former Patriot GM Bucko Kilroy for taking him under his wing.
As for his infamous leaving New England for the Jets, with the preparation for doing so taking place during Super Bowl week, he admitted that some things he wished he could do over.
Parcells inherited a team in disarray and turned it around. In four years they went from a doormat to the Super Bowl. He was a fantastic coach who could be charming or a stone-faced monster if rubbed the wrong way. His press conferences were legendary. It was great to see him back, and wearing a Patriots’ HOF red jacket. He kept his remarks brief.
Edelman’s great moments in a Patriot uniform are the stuff of legend in Gillette Stadium. From his first preseason game (The Wally Pipp crack by Belichick) to that ridiculous catch in the Super Bowl against the Falcons, to the Super Bowl MVP award, Edelman was an overachiever of the Nth Degree.
Congratulations to the two of them, They’re forever now part of the Patriots History. Well-deserved and thank you for all the Sundays that we watched.
If you missed the Hall of Fame ceremony it can watched here:
Aaron Rodgers recently recalled New England Patriots guard Dan Connolly’s record-breaking 71-yard kickoff return from 2010, calling it “one of the greatest plays” he has ever seen. Rodgers was injured and watching from the sideline when the play happened, but still admired Connolly’s surprising athleticism.
Admiration for the “big guys”: Though he was on the losing side, Rodgers admitted to having a “very tiny, quiet ‘go!'” for Connolly as the 300-pound offensive lineman rumbled down the field.
A memorable play, despite the outcome: Rodgers was a member of the Green Bay Packers at the time. The play helped spark a Patriots comeback from a 17-7 deficit to a 31-27 victory.
It was a defining moment of the game. The kickoff return is considered one of the most memorable plays in the history of the limited matchups between the Packers and Patriots. Connolly’s run energized New England and set up a touchdown that cut Green Bay’s lead to three points.
Sitting in the crowd that night, there was a general gasp of disbelief that it was happening. I recall several Packers fans sitting beside us, prior to the game lamenting the fact that their STs were all banged up, especially the coverage units.
Rodgers, now with the Steelers, was asked about his history playing at Gillette Stadium ahead of a 2025 matchup with the Patriots. He remains winless at the stadium, with the 2010 loss and Connolly’s return being a vivid memory.
It is funny that Rodgers recalled that play, considering the crazy Special Teams weeks the Patriots and Steelers had a week ago. The Patriots missed to extra points, and then allowed a 74-yard punt return for a touchdown. On the very next play, Antonio Gibson returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown that put the Patriots ahead for good.
The Steelers were victimized by a rookie mistake and one of the more bizarre plays you will see.
Steelers rookie Kaleb Johnson let a kickoff go into the end zone, believing it to be a touchback, but instead allowed the Seahawks to recover the live ball for a touchdown due to the new NFL kickoff rules.
This costly mistake, which put the Seahawks up by 10 points in a game they eventually won 31-17, resulted in Johnson being benched and taken off kick return duties by the Steelers.
So perhaps Rodgers is on to something, and we could see further craziness on STs this week.
We’ll have some other areas to keep a sharp eye on in today’s game farther below.
Christian Gonzalez: The Patriots outstanding cornerback who was injured on July 28, finally returned to practice this week after nearly a month and a half. He hasn’t been ruled out this week.
Mike Vrabel said that Gonzo’s status will be a game-time decision, if he plays. But he was downgraded to out yesterday. “We listed him as limited, which means that he did some work, and we’ll still kind of evaluate where he’s at towards closer to the game,” Vrabel said on Friday.
“So again, it was good to see him out there. It’s very good to have him out there, and the more guys we can get out there, the better,” he added.
“It’s been very challenging to be out for so long. But I’m focused on the here and now,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not really too worried about the injury. I’m not going to answer any questions on that, we’re just focused on the Steelers.”
“It’s been hard,” Gonzalez added. “It’s been tough. But it’s part of football. Everything in football is tough. It’s going to test you physically. It’s going to test you mentally. It’s just a part of it.”
Terrell Williams: Defensive Coordinator Terrell Williams will miss his second straight game with a medical issue and it was announced the ILB coach Zak Kuhr will handle Williams’ duties again in his absence.
“I’d say he’s feeling better. I think that we’ll probably be operating under the same premise,” Vrabel said. “I mean, Terrell’s around, I just want to try to get some continuity, and with the situation probably being fluid, we’ll stick to the same plan that we had last week. He’ll just be more involved. I just want to make sure that we’re not in and out and in and out. That’s all.”
Patriots No Huddle Podcast: Derek, Mike, and I discussed the Week 2 win against the Dolphins, and in our next podcast, we made our picks for the Pittsburgh game. We also picked the results of the Thursday night game and other games this week. You can find our podcasts on YouTube, Apple, or Spotify. Please take a look and leave us a review.
Russ Francis/Chuck Fairbanks: The former Patriot tight end and head coach should be in the Patriots team Hall of Fame, and the fact that Francis isn’t is an absolute travesty. Francis and the Raiders’ Dave Casper changed how teams used the tight end position.
This will be displayed in our Sunday posts until it happens. Casper is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Francis’ numbers stand up well against Casper’s, yet he isn’t even in the team’s HOF.
The Patriots are looking to go on a modest two-game winning streak for the first time in three years. They may possibly catch the Steelers at the right time, the Steelers defense has been uncharacteristically leaky, especially against the run in the first two weeks. We know they’ll get it figured out, but with their running game, the Patriots will look to capitalize against them one more time.
Here (from a Patriots perspective) are five players to watch.
But before that, here are some YAC numbers that were sent to me by Bobby Giller from Inside Edge that pertain to today’s game.
Pittsburgh WRs have averaged 7.8 yards after the catch (109 RAC / 14 receptions) this season — best in NFL; League Avg: 3.7
Pittsburgh RBs have gained 143 yards after catch this season — 3rd-most in NFL. The Patriots have allowed 285 yards after catch this season — 3rd-most in NFL
Rhamondre Stevenson — The Patriots abandoned their running game too early in the second half of Week 1, but had a much stronger effort last week in Miami rolling up 120+ yards on the ground with Stevenson leading the way, both running and receiving.
With the Steelers run defense getting gashed the first two weeks, Stevenson, along with TreVeyon Henderson and Antonio Gibson will ge looked to, setting the tone early, controlling the clock and tempo.
This would set up play-action passing for Drake Maye. Having a balanced rushing and passing game is something that Josh McDaniels preaches and they had that a week ago.
Harold Landry — The former Titan is off to a great start in his Patriots career with 3.5 sacks in the first two games. After finishing last season at the bottom with 28 sacks, the Patriots lead the league through two weeks with nine.
With Aaron Rodgers’ protection having some issues, what better way to cover up a beleaguered secondary (the Patriots are last in the league in passing yards allowed) than to bring some pressure on Rodgers and force him to get rid of the ball early.
Linebackers In Coverage — The Patriots linebackers have really struggled in coverage, especially against tight ends and the Steelers have a pair of good ones in Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiremuth. The tackling has been poor as well, this is an area that really needs to be tightened up. The alternative is that the TEs will have huge games and the middle of the field will turn into a nightmare.
Demario Douglas — We here had Douglas having a big year in a Josh McDaniels offense, as the slot always had a huge role in it. Through the first two weeks, he has been basically an afterthought, despite appearing as a perfect fit.
Douglas played just 15 snaps last week in Miami, and in the first two games his stat line is a surprising three catch, six yards, with a TD. There is still plenty of time to get things going for Douglas who led the Patriots with 66 catches a year ago. And today would be a nice time to start.
If McDaniels can isolate Douglas on linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson, he can get Douglas going and allow him to be the chains mover he has been in the past.
Drake Maye — Maye had his best game as a pro last week in Miami. His comfort level in the offense was the best we’ve seen it, thus far in his brief NFL career. The offense used motion and play-action passing to keep the chains moving and the defense off-balance.
None of the WRs had production over 32 yards (Diggs 4 catches, 32 yards), so, is this in the game plan this week? It would be nice to see Maye and Diggs get some chemistry going in the passing game.
Maye also has the wheels to pressure the defense if they play man coverage, something the Steelers do more than most teams. Maye has seen mostly zone coverages the first two games but that could change this week.
The week got off to a good start on Thursday Night Football, in what many (including here) thought would be a blowout, turned out to be an entertaining game between the Bills and Dolphins. Josh Allen continues to show that MVP form. However, Miami was hanging with them until they made two mistakes in the end that cost them.
Monday night’s game promises to be a great one with the Lions and Ravens in Baltimore…take the over in that one.
Thursday Night Football:
Buffalo over Miami 1-0
Sunday Day Games:
Green Bay over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Tennessee
Minnesota over Cincinnati
New England over Pittsburgh
Philadelphia over LA Rams
Tampa Bay over New York Jets
Washington over Las Vegas
Atlanta over Carolina
Houston over Jacksonville
Seattle over New Orleans
Dallas over Chicago
San Francisco over Arizona
LA Chargers over Denver
Sunday Night Football:
Kansas City over New York Giants
Monday Night Football:
Baltimore over Detroit
Last Week 13—3
2025 Season 24—8
2024 Season 204—68
2023 Season 178—94
2022 Season: 178—92—2
2021 Season: 183—88—1
2020 Season: 169—86—1
2019 Season: 162—93—1
“In practice, fine. We’ll see how the game goes. The only thing that matters now is how we tackle in the game. How we’re able to tackle [Jaylen] Warren, Jonnu [Smith], and DK [Metcalf] and [Calvin] Austin [III] and those skill players, that’s what matters.
“And again, there were a lot of times of good tackling and then some – I think probably other than [De’Von] Achane, I can’t really think of a missed tackle that led to some significant gain.
“So, that means we’re swarming to the football. There’s good evidence of that, which will always help miss tackles. I think if you could just – I mean, we have to be able to not miss as many tackles, but also track what those lead to. The yardage, the amount of yardage that they lead to. So again, we’ve continued to practice it. We’ll continue to work on it and look for positive results on Sunday.”
Mike Vrabel, after being asked about the tackling woes the first two games and how the team responded in practice.
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“Somebody asked me what success looks like, and I said, ‘Yeah, you can judge it by wins and losses during the season, but success for me in the offseason is going to be that the players believe in what we’re doing, and they believe in the message, they believe in the teaching, and they believe in the connections that we’re making.’” — Mike Vrabel
Follow me on Twitter @SteveB7SFG or email me at [email protected]
Listen to our PatsFans.com Patriots No Huddle podcasts on Apple and YouTube as Derek Havens, Mike D’Abate, and I discuss the latest Patriots news and game analysis.
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