This one was a defensive battle, but the New England Patriots did enough on offense to hold off the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14, in Week 2.
Offensive spotlight: Wide receiver Nelson Agholor came alive for six catches and 110 yards, including a second-quarter touchdown that gave the Patriots a lead they would not relinquish. Running back Damien Harris was efficient, rushing for 71 yards on 15 carries with a score.
Defensive spotlight: Both defenses made things tough, but the Patriots tallied three sacks by Matthew Judon, Jahlani Tavai and Christian Barmore. Mac Jones threw a third-quarter pass that should have been intercepted, and after the defensive miscue, the Steelers' special teams unit muffed a punt, leading to the final Patriots score.
Rookie spotlight: Steelers rookie WR George Pickens had one catch on three targets for a second straight week. The second-round draft pick has only 26 yards receiving through two games.
Offensive line spotlight: The New England offensive line kept Mac Jones clean a week after the Steelers sacked Bengals QB Joe Burrow seven times.
Box Score
Passing
| New England Patriots | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Mac Jones | 13.68 | 21 / 35 | 252 | 7.2 | 1 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Mitch Trubisky | 12.42 | 21 / 33 | 168 | 5.1 | 1 | 1 |
Rushing
| New England Patriots | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Damien Harris | 16.7 | 15 | 71 | 4.7 | 1 | 16 |
| Mac Jones | 13.68 | 7 | 6 | 0.9 | 0 | 5 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 6.1 | 9 | 47 | 5.2 | 0 | 8 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Najee Harris | 13.9 | 15 | 49 | 3.3 | 0 | 8 |
| Mitch Trubisky | 12.42 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Jaylen Warren | 2.5 | 4 | 15 | 3.8 | 0 | 6 |
| Gunner Olszewski | 0.8 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| Derek Watt | 0.2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Receiving
| New England Patriots | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Nelson Agholor | 26 | 6 | 6 | 110 | 18.3 | 1 |
| Jakobi Meyers | 18.5 | 13 | 9 | 95 | 7.3 | 0 |
| Damien Harris | 16.7 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 0 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 6.1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Kendrick Bourne | 3.6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 5.3 | 0 |
| Lil'Jordan Humphrey | 2.1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 |
| DeVante Parker | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hunter Henry | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonnu Smith | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Najee Harris | 13.9 | 6 | 5 | 40 | 6.7 | 0 |
| Diontae Johnson | 13.7 | 10 | 6 | 57 | 5.7 | 0 |
| Pat Freiermuth | 12.2 | 7 | 4 | 22 | 3.1 | 1 |
| Chase Claypool | 6.6 | 6 | 4 | 26 | 4.3 | 0 |
| George Pickens | 3.3 | 3 | 1 | 23 | 7.7 | 0 |
| Jaylen Warren | 2.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.