COMMENTARY
In the Patriots’ video room at Gillette Stadium, Mike Vrabel and his coaching staff have made a few impromptu renovations.
Plastered on the wall is a poster — mapping out the key principles set down by New England’s head coach as the team tries to cultivate a sustainable and successful culture.
The four foundations to New England’s identity:
1. Effort And Finish
2. Ball Security & Ball Disruption
3. Details, Technique and Fundamentals
4. Make Great Decisions
Vrabel’s ongoing endeavor when it comes to re-establishing the Patriots as a perennial powerhouse will be far from easy.
All it takes is a quick glance at New England’s depth chart for that reality to sink in.
But as New England tries to string some momentum together and make linear progress following back-to-back, four-win seasons, Vrabel has harped about the “non-negotiables” can’t wane or waver — regardless of the personnel out on the field.
Which is what made Sunday’s setback against the Steelers all the more frustrating for New England’s coach.
Any cliched responses about needing to watch film before accurately sizing up what went wrong in the Patriots’ 21-14 loss to the Steelers wasn’t necessary.
And sure, there were positives to be drawn from a team that might be harping more on silver linings than tangible results this fall.
But, it all seemed to ring hollow on an afternoon where the baseline standards followed by any competent football program were hard to come by.
“We don’t need to learn a lesson,” Vrabel bemoaned Sunday. “We don’t need to lose a football game to know that turnovers are very hard to overcome. They erase all the good things that you do. They take away momentum. They take away points, give them field position.
“We didn’t need to turn it over as many times as we did to learn a lesson. I think we knew that before. It was very unfortunate.”
For the first time since November 2008, the Patriots were knocked for a whopping five turnovers in a single — scuttling a winnable game against a flawed Steelers club.
Beyond Hunter Henry (eight catches, 90 yards, two touchdowns), there were few pieces on New England’s offense who will be exempt from Vrabel and his staff’s wrath on Monday morning during film review.
Rhamondre Stevenson — fresh off of torching the Dolphins’ defensive corps last week — saw his ball-security woes sprout up at the worst possible time.
He was knocked for two fumbles: one on New England’s opening drive that ultimately ended in a Pittsburgh touchdown down the other end of the field, and one at the goal line in the third quarter that squandered what would have been a potential game-tying score.
“I’ve got to hold onto the ball to have value and put value on this team,” Stevenson said. “So, if I can’t hold the ball, they don’t need me.”
Veteran safety and established heat-seeking missile Jabrill Peppers — the type of hard-hitting, momentum-shifting presence that New England’s roster has conveniently missed this season — popped another pigskin loose in the third quarter with a thunderous hit against Antonio Gibson.
And even with some strong stretches of offensive brilliance, Drake Maye was once again done in by critical lapses at inopportune times with a pair of turnovers.
“It hurts. I think it’s one of those things that just kept piling on … . It cost us. It hurts. It’s something to learn from. It’s a long season,” Maye said. “The defense played their butts off, and the guys in the locker room are playing hard and they’re fighting hard. It’s tough, and it stings just knowing we hurt ourselves, and that’s what cost us.”
A 17-play, 92-yard drive that took over seven minutes of game action off the clock in the second quarter ended abruptly for New England after Maye’s intended pass for Kayshon Boutte in the end zone was plucked out of the air by Brandin Echols.
With both Maye’s end-zone interception and Stevenson’s goal-line fumble, New England’s offense had two instances where they brought the ball all the way to Pittsburgh’s two-yard line: with zero points to ultimately show for it.
Maye’s desire to try and extend a play on a potential game-winning drive in the fourth quarter also led to disaster, as linebacker Nick Herbig chopped the ball out of the QB’s hands for the fifth turnover of the night.
A little over five minutes later, Aaron Rodgers broke a 14-14 stalemate with a 17-yard touchdown throw to Calvin Austin to give Pittsburgh the lead for good.
“”A lot of good. And unfortunately, some decisions that have to be better,” Vrabel said of Maye. “I’m sure we’ll have to protect him better. And just understanding that you don’t have to win it all on one play. There are opportunities to move on and save the day in the next play. You can’t put the ball in harm’s way at that position. But certainly Drake wasn’t alone. ‘
“But there’s a lot of really good things in there, his ability to extend plays, scramble, pick up 1st downs for us, run multiple plays inside the pocket, outside the pocket. There are a lot of good things in there, just some decision-making that we need to be better.”
As Vrabel noted, there were plenty of good things drawn from another frustrating afternoon in Foxborough.
After a sluggish start in all facets of the game, both Maye and New England’s defense bounced back for extended stretches.
New England closed out the game with sizable advantages in:
Total yards: 368-202
First downs: 26-17
Fourth-down conversions: 4-of-5 for New England, 0-for-0 for Pittsburgh
New England’s defensive corps limited Aaron Rodgers to just 139 passing yards, while Pittsburgh punted or turned the ball over on five of its final six possessions (excluding kneeling situations at the half and the end of the game).
But, instead of offering up signs of optimism, those stats further reinforced that New England let a victory slip through their grasp once again.
The Patriots’ ongoing rebuild won’t be easy. But securing back-to-back wins for the first time since 2022 on Sunday would have been another step forward for a New England roster that needs to start stacking some positive developments.
Instead, the Patriots found themselves engaging in a familiar exercise on Sunday night: fretting over “what could have been” instead of bracing for “what’s next.”