Final, Patriots 39-26: Despite how weird things got later in the fourth quarter, that was one heck of a victory for the Patriots, who improved to 7-2 and stayed tied atop the AFC standings. There will be plenty more coverage of this one on NESN.com.
Fourth quarter, 1:53, Patriots 39-26: Shayne Graham booted a 36-yard field goal to extend the lead, but this wild one isn't over just yet. These two teams have combined to score 39 points in the fourth quarter.
Fourth quarter, 2:59, Patriots 36-26: The Patriots' tremendous defensive effort is going to get lost in the final score. Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 33-yard touchdown pass, and the pair are padding their stats late in the fourth quarter. The most annoying thing for the Patriots is that their prevent defense isn't even forcing the Steelers to use up a whole lot of clock.
Fourth quarter, 4:23, Patriots 36-18: That's the Gronk-out punch, for real this time. Tom Brady hit Rob Gronkowski for a 25-yard touchdown pass, and the rookie tight end has three scores for one heck of a bounce-back performance after last week.
Fourth quarter, 6:42, Patriots 29-18: Jerod Mayo won the fight underneath the pile to recover Pittsburgh's onside kick attempt, and the Patriots have the ball at the Steelers' 41-yard line.
Fourth quarter, 6:44, Patriots 29-18: Well, the Patriots didn't do themselves any favors there. They let the Steelers fly down the field on a five-play, 53-yard drive that spanned a measly 1:48, and Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 15-yard touchdown in front of Brandon Meriweather. Mewelde Moore ran in for the two-point conversion to make it a little more interesting.
Fourth quarter, 8:32, Patriots 29-10: James Sanders finishes it off with a 32-yard interception for a touchdown. Ben Roethlisberger's pass to Antwaan Randle El was tipped by Patrick Chung, and Sanders was Jimmy On The Spot. He raced down the left side of the field and easily scored, and the crowd is heading for the exits. The Patriots went for two and failed after a heavy blitz forced Brady to lob one up to no avail.
Fourth quarter, 9:12, Patriots 23-10: The Patriots only managed to eat up 2:59 despite moving the ball into Steelers territory, but they had to punt it away after an intentional grounding call backed them up too far. The Steelers brought the house on a blitz, and Tom Brady had to get rid of it in a hurry, which led to the flag. Zoltan Mesko's punt was fair caught at the 11, and the Steelers have a long field in front of them. They need the full 89 yards, too. No field goals at this point.
Fourth quarter, 12:11, Patriots 23-10: Ben Roethlisberger hit a diving Emmanuel Sanders in the left side of the end zone, and the Steelers aren't dead just yet after that six-yard touchdown. Let's see if the Patriots make sure they don't have a repeat performance of what happened last month in San Diego. That was a seven-play, 71-yard drive and the first time the Steelers looked really efficient on offense in the game.
Third quarter, 0:22, Patriots 23-3: Tom Brady scored on a three-yard sneak and ferociously spiked the ball in the back of the end zone before giving a good stare to the Pittsburgh fans behind the goal post. This guy is jacked up for this one, and the Patriots are straight giving it to the Steelers in their own building. Then, Shayne Graham missed the extra point, so that's not really what they're looking for out of the new guy.
Third quarter, 3:40, Patriots 17-3: Chalk up a major victory for the Patriots' defense. Jeff Reed scuffed a 26-yard field-goal attempt, and the Steelers couldn't capitalize after getting hooked up with great field position due to Brandon Meriweather's 38-yard pass interference penalty. Reed looked like one of those unfortunate fans who never has a chance in a halftime contest. Ugly.
Third quarter, 8:01, Patriots 17-3: Mike Wright got to Ben Roethlisberger again, and the Steelers are getting booed by their fans at Heinz Field. Funny story with that. During the hour it took to find the media parking lot, we were listening to the Steelers pregame show, and the host referred to the Pats' defensive lineman as "some guy Mike Wright." I'm guessing the host knows Wright a little better now.
Third quarter, 9:48, Patriots 17-3: That's the type of drive you see out of good teams. The Patriots opened the second half with a 10-play, 78-yard drive that was capped off with a nine-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Steelers completely bit on the play-action fake to BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and Brady hit a wide-open Gronkowski in the right flat. It was the rookie's second touchdown of the game. Also, Wes Welker has a season high with 76 receiving yards.
Third quarter, 14:54, Patriots 10-3: Brandon Tate returned the second-half kickoff to the New England 22, and this thing is back underway from the Ketchup Bottle.
Halftime, Patriots 10-3: Aaron Hernandez was in on defense and knocked aside Ben Roethlisberger's Hail Mary attempt at the end of the half, and the Patriots closed out the opening 30 minutes with a seven-point lead. All in all, the Patriots will take it, but the offense's struggles in the second quarter can't be sitting well. The Pats will receive the second-half kickoff, and you know Tom Brady is getting on his teammates in the locker room to execute better. Brady has looked good, completing 17-of-25 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown.
Second quarter, 0:42, Patriots 10-3: Couple notable things just happened. First, Bill Belichick decided to pass on a 51-yard field-goal attempt, and some may wonder what would have happened if Belichick still had Stephen Gostkowski, who has a stronger leg than Shayne Graham. However, Gostkowski has only attempted six field goals from at least 50 yards in his career, and Belichick almost always thinks conservatively with these decisions. So, that likely wasn't an indictment on Graham's kicking power.
Then, Rob Gronkowski was called for offensive pass interference, which negated his first-down reception and caused the Patriots to punt. That was a very poor call. No other way to put it. That flag should only be thrown if you can clearly see the offensive player's arms extend after contact. That call might have taken points off the board for the Patriots.
Second quarter, 1:36, Patriots 10-3: The Patriots have an excellent opportunity to seize back the momentum after Pittsburgh's poor series and short punt gave the Patriots the ball at their own 49. The Patriots are going into the wind here, so they'll probably need a good 20 yards to get into Shayne Graham's comfort zone.
Second quarter, 2:40, Patriots 10-3: Tom Brady is none too happy with the offense after they picked up a quick first down but then punted it away for the second consecutive possession. It looked like some of Brady's frustrations were aimed at Wes Welker for dropping a pass over the middle. Welker might have had that Ryan Clark hit from a couple years ago on his mind, and Clark was gearing up for Round 2 before Welker's bobble this time around.
Second quarter, 5:08, Patriots 10-3: Jeff Reed's 22-yard field goal got the Steelers on the board, but they left some points on the field after Antwaan Randle El dropped a pass in the end zone. Patriots outside linebacker Jermaine Cunningham also got really lucky. He was flagged for a neutral-zone infraction, which gave the Steelers a second chance on third down. Cunningham was blatantly lined up offsides.
Second quarter, 10:30, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots reversed the field, but they had to punt it away after reaching the Pittsburgh 40. Tom Brady threw three consecutive incompletions, with a Wes Welker false start mixed in between, to end the drive, and the Steelers take over at their own 20. This is one of those drives that the Patriots' defense needs in order to keep the crowd quiet and the momentum in their favor.
Second quarter, 12:47, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots are killing the Steelers' depleted offensive line in a number of ways. Whether the Steelers have been victimized by their own miscommunication, or just getting bulldozed by the Pats' pass rushers, it's been an ugly display. Pittsburgh's drive stalled after Ben Roethlisberger was sacked for the third time, and the Patriots take possession at their own 20.
End of first quarter, Patriots 10-0: The Patriots have got to be thrilled with the 10-point lead they've built after one quarter. Tom Brady was a strong 10-for-12 for 103 yards and one touchdown against the Steelers' struggling pass defense. Also, Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward looks like he might have suffered a concussion after getting hit in the head by James Sanders. Ward looked really woozy while being helped off the field after the last play of the quarter.
First quarter, 1:03, Patriots 10-0: Shayne Graham kicked his first field goal as a Patriot, a 31-yarder, to extend New England's lead. But the Patriots have to be disappointed they couldn't get into the end zone there. BenJarvus Green-Ellis was flagged for a chop block on second-and-8 from the Pittsburgh 12-yard line, and that basically killed the drive. Either way, it's been a really strong first quarter for the visitors.
First quarter, 6:29, Patriots 7-0: Gary Guyton is having a great quarter, and he recorded a quick sack of Ben Roethlisberger on second down before Mike Wright and Shawn Crable combined to sack Roethlisberger on third down, forcing a fourth-and-37. After the punt, the Patriots take over at their own 42.
First quarter, 9:48, Patriots 7-0: Tom Brady threw a perfect pass to Rob Gronkowski in the right seem, and the Patriots are on the board with that 19-yard strike. Gronkowski beat slot cornerback William Gay, and Brady threw the ball high and out in front of Gronkowski, who did a really nice job to haul in the third-down pass and fall into the end zone in front of safety Ryan Clark.
First quarter, 13:55, 0-0: Gary Guyton and Kyle Arrington each broke up a pass, and the Patriots forced a three-and-out to start the game. New England takes over at its own 30 after the punt.
First quarter, 14:53, 0-0: Emmanuel Sanders returned the opening kickoff to the Pittsburgh 26, and the Steelers are ready to get this thing going.
8:28 p.m.: There's some good energy at Heinz Field as the crowd awaits the opening kickoff.
8:25 p.m.: The Patriots called heads and won the toss, and they elected to kick off. The Steelers will open the game with the ball.
7:56 p.m.: Tom Brady has looked smooth during his pregame warmups, delivering passes without a hitch in his step. Brady has a right foot injury that definitely gave him some trouble last week, and that is something that is worth watching Sunday night.
7:31 p.m.: The Patriots are wearing their white jerseys, blue pants and silver helmets, and the Steelers are going old school with black jerseys (thick yellow stripe), yellow helmets and white pants.
7:16 p.m.: Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison will play after appearing on the injured list Saturday with back spasms. But, as expected, left guard Chris Kemoeatu will not play, which means three-fifths of the Steelers' starting line heading into the season are out of action. Right tackle Willie Colon and left tackle Max Starks are on injured reserve.
7:14 p.m.: It's a good sign that safety Patrick Chung didn't have to work out on the field prior to the announcement of the inactive list, which means the Patriots knew in advance he was healthy enough to play against the Steelers.
6:56 p.m.: Cornerback Darius Butler highlights the Patriots' inactive list for Sunday night's game against the Steelers. The struggling cornerback, who lost his starting job in Week 3 to Kyle Arrington, is missing his first game of the season and the third of his career. Running back Fred Taylor, safety Jarrad Page, right guard Stephen Neal, defensive lineman Myron Pryor, offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger, tackle Mark LeVoir and wide receiver Taylor Price are the other inactives. More analysis to follow.
6:20 p.m.: A handful of Patriots have been stretching out on the field underneath a light rainfall. Kicker Shayne Graham, long snapper Matt Katula and punter Zoltan Mesko were out there early, and they've since been joined by quarterback Brian Hoyer, running back Danny Woodhead and offensive lineman Rich Ohrnberger.
6:04 p.m.: Well, we got lost looking for the media lot for so long that the Cowboys apparently learned how to play good football again. But the good thing is I'm here, can see the field and am ready to start blogging away. Right away, one thing really sticks out: Heinz Field is just a giant mass of yellow.
The Patriots have their first chance to put that Browns debacle behind them, as they travel to Pittsburgh for Sunday night's nationally televised game against the Steelers. And it's a matchup between a pair of teams who share the AFC's best record.
There are a handful of storylines to watch throughout the day. Quarterback Tom Brady has been bothered by a right foot injury, while safety Patrick Chung (knee) could potentially return after missing some action.
One thing seems certain: By the end of the day, one of these teams will look like a legitimate Super Bowl favorite.