(Pittsburgh) Bailey Zappe threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the New England Patriots ended a five-game losing streak while dealing a blow to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff hopes in the winning 21-18 on Thursday.
Zappe had 240 passing yards in his second start for the Patriots (3-10), who became the second team with just two wins to defeat the Steelers (7-6) in five days.
Hunter Henry scored two touchdowns on passing plays for the Patriots. Ezekiel Elliott had 140 yards – 72 passing and 68 rushing – catching a major pass for the worst offense in the NFL. The Patriots indeed scored three touchdowns for the first time since October.
JuJu Smith-Schuster added 90 passing yards against his former team.
Mitch Trubisky completed 22 of 35 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown and reached the end zone once himself, replacing the injured Kenny Pickett.
The quarterback was also the victim of an interception in the first half that led to Henry’s first touchdown and he inexplicably tried to reach Diontae Johnson deep despite being well covered, on a fourth down and two yards with just under two minutes to play.
The Steelers got the ball back with 15 seconds left, but they never really had a chance to score.
The Steelers racked up 264 yards of offense, another step in the wrong direction for a group that appeared to be able to get its act together after the firing of offensive coordinator Matt Canada before Thanksgiving.
Five days after being shut out by the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots looked in much better shape.
