FOXBORO, Mass. — NFL fans were expecting Sunday’s season opener between the Patriots and the Steelers to be an all-out battle, but that simply wasn’t the case.
New England buried Pittsburgh 33-3 in the first Sunday Night Football action of the new season. In fact, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger failed to connect for a touchdown for the first time in 27 games.
Roethlisberger shouldered much of the blame for the loss after the game.
“I wasn’t good enough,” he said when asked to identify the issue with Pittsburgh’s passing game Sunday. “Wasn’t giving guys balls when they needed to catch them — put them in front, behind, things like that — so I just, I wasn’t good enough.”
Timing was a big issue for Roethlisberger, who went just 27-for-47 with 276 yards and one interception. But he’ll be the first one to admit it.
“I just didn’t connect on (the deep balls),” he said. “… But that’s just me not making the throw I need to make.”
That said, Roethlisberger gives the Patriots defense credit for shutting the Steelers down.
“We know that they’re good and, we know they like to throw a lot of different looks at you, and I just wasn’t good enough,” he said.
The Steelers have a chance to turn things around in Week 2 when they take on the Seattle Seahawks at Heinz Field.
