Steelers 25, Patriots 17

Do you know what's alarming? As ugly and painful to watch as the Pats' D was on Sunday, they were the best unit on the field for New England. They kept the Patriots in the game. They held the Steelers to 3 field goals and 2 TDs in the Red Zone. They intercepted Roethlisberger which set up an 8 yard TD drive. They were on the field for 2/3 of this game, and they played much better than the offense.

Give credit to the Steelers for doing two key things defensively: pressuring Brady (from unanticipated angles) and neutralizing Wes Welker. Brady was rarely comfortable and Welker was held to 6 catches for only 39 yards. When Welker did catch the ball, he was immediately (and forcefully) greeted by a Pittsburgh defender.

The Patriots shot themselves in the foot, too. Four false start penalties by the line (give partial credit to the Steelers' pass rushers), and they all came at key moments in drives. The Pats didn't take advantage of the penalties Pittsburgh committed, they didn't even try to run the ball, they didn't do much to stop Pittsburgh's pass rush like run some screens with Woodhead and/or Faulk. The Patriots offense was 3/10 on 3rd downs.

It was nice seeing Faulk in the backfield, he played well for being 80 years old. Gronkowski was stellar. He had more guys on him than Bibi Jones after a baseball game. And unlike Bibi Jones, he didn't go down easily. That's about it as far as good offensive performances go.

The defense did a decent job, but it was far from pretty. The blitzing was predictable. Blitzing worked for the Germans in 1940 because France didn't know where or when it was coming. The Patriots sent extra men in predictable situations, and sent them in predictable directions. And the Steelers ate them up for it.

If any team wants to move the ball against the Pats, all they have to do is run 6-10 yard curls. It's open. Every single down. Thankfully, the Pats clamped down in the Red Zone and turned possible touchdowns into field goals. If they hadn't, Pittsburgh would have won in a blowout.

Speaking of field goals. This was Gostkowski's worst game as a Patriot. One missed field goal, two botched onside kicks. He was one of many Patriots that simply didn't do their job.

Then there was the Patriots' clock management in the 4th. Instead of challenging the refs when Gronkowski appeared to catch the ball over the goal line, they wasted 1:37, taking their time to set plays up before finally scoring after several attempts.

The Pats are 2-2 on the road. Those 2 wins were in Miami and Oakland. Those 2 losses were in Buffalo and now Pittsburgh. The Patriots haven't beaten a good team on the road yet. And they play in the Meadowlands in 2 weeks. I'm more than a little concerned.

They host the Giants Sunday evening.

-The Commodore

Patriots 31, Raiders 19

It wasn't immaculate, but the Patriots got back to the business of winning in Oakland Sunday afternoon, thanks to Wes Welker, Vince Wilfork, and some Raiders' penalties.

It's safe to say that Welker is back. He caught 9 passes for 158 yards. He's on pace for 160 receptions. He's Brady's favorite target again, he's getting yards after the catch, he's getting himself open on 3rd downs.

Vince Wilfork is the defensive MVP of the Patriots. He not only holds down the middle of the defensive line (which is extra hard on the road as Haynesworth apparently does not like to travel), but now he's making plays. Two interceptions this season, which is only one shy of Arrington for the team lead.

Turnovers saved the Patriots in this game. Chung's interception ended an Oakland drive that should have been a touchdown. The Pats do not have a good defense, but if they can retrieve the ball (and the offense can hang on to it), then they can be saved.

I had a thought during this game. Why not use Matthew Slater as a defensive back? He can't be much worse in coverage than the safeties currently employed by the Pats, and at least he can tackle.

I'm glad the Patriots fully utilized Ridley. 97 yards on 10 carries, and a touchdown. He can be more effective than Ellis (getting more yards per carry), and more dependable than Woodhead to get those 2 must-have yards.

The Raiders did the Patriots plenty of favors. Richard Seymour's childish antics with Brady are the foremost example. But even just running the ball instead of taking advantage of the Patriots' weak zone defense felt like Oakland was trying to not take advantage of the Patriots' biggest weakness. Thanks.

The Pats are now tied with the Bills for first, with a big divisional game this Sunday. Jets at Patriots, Sunday at 4:15.

-The Commodore

Bills 34, Patriots 31

I'm getting flashbacks of 2009, and I don't think it's because of A Football Life: Bill Belichick. It's because this team isn't playing as well as it should. The offensive numbers are gaudy. The Pats amassed 495 yards on Sunday. But the defense has shown vulnerabilities in all three games. And now Brady is making mistakes. The Pats can win without Brady being perfect. But they simply cannot win when he turns the ball over 4 times.

The picks were products of arrogance. Brady dazzles us with his perfect throws, but he gets cocky sometimes. Can't blame him. He'll throw 9 or 10 consecutive completions, often into coverage. And more often than not, he's able to place the ball so perfectly that only Gronkowski or Welker can retrieve it. But if those throws are only 99% perfect, they're risky. The margin for error is so slim, and Mr. Brady is still a human being. He makes mistakes. And that was more than apparent yesterday.

I don't want Tom Brady to tone down his aggressiveness. But there's a fine line between fearless and reckless. He's not Brett Favre tossing up ducks out there, but he's good enough that he doesn't need to be forcing some of these passes. He can find other options.

Now to the officiating. The pass interference call on Sergio Brown was awful, and it saved Ryan Fitzpatrick from one of the biggest mistakes of his life. The Bills scored a touchdown instead of the Patriots getting the ball back with a 24-17 lead. That call was awful, and it may have changed the result of the game.

But the Patriots shouldn't need a perfectly officiated game in order to beat the Bills. They shouldn't need all the bounces and calls to go their way.

And after the blown call, how did Brady respond? He doesn't see a linebacker, throws it off his helmet, and a Buffalo Bill catches it. You can call the bounce unlucky, but a QB has to see linebackers lurking underneath. If it hits an LB's helmet, it just as easily could have been caught by him.

Then there were moments like the confusion induced false start on 3rd and goal, just before Welker's game-tying TD. That was after a timeout. No excuse for confusion.

Speaking of timeouts, Rich Gannon is a moron. After the Bills' apparent touchdown was overruled, Belichick called an immediate timeout because the clock would have started to run once the ball was set. The replay was initiated by the booth, which means that the clock would resume as normal once the review was over. Belichick called a timeout to stop the clock.

The Patriots' defense looked awful. I don't know why they even use people in the safety position. Forget the 3-4/4-3 debate, just go with a 5-4 front and two CBs. Devin McCourty has looked so exposed this year because he's on an island. He's good, but he's not good enough to do that. Few are. He has no safety help, neither does Bodden.

Maybe Chad Ochocinco should play safety. He seems to be more adept at causing incompletions than he is at making receptions. I'm done defending Ochocinco. It's one thing to struggle with the verbiage of this complex offense. It's another thing to be unable to catch a perfectly thrown ball that touches both hands and the chest. A receiver that doesn't catch the ball is as useful as a kicker that struggles to kick the ball.

I know the Pats ultimately scored on the drive, thanks to the superhuman Wes Welker, but it took about 5 minutes for the Patriots to score. The game changes if Ochocinco catches that pass. Maybe Buffalo scores, but the Pats have enough time to respond.

Brady trusts Welker. He trusts Gronkowski, Branch, Hernandez, Woodhead, and even Edelman (pronounced Ed-ell-man, not aid-ell-man). I don't know how much he'll be trusting Ochocinco.

It'd be unfair to not talk about how amazing Welker's performance was. 16 catches (franchise record) for 217 yards (franchise record) and 2 touchdowns. He also ran for 19 yards. He's definitely healthy, and back as a force, and as Brady's #1 option.

Gronkowski also had an excellent game. 109 yards and 2 TDs. Stevan Ridley looked good, carrying the ball 7 times for 44 yards. I know the Patriots don't run much, but I'd like to see this kid get more carries. He's a powerful back, but is capable of getting a few more yards. I feel like runs that BJG Ellis gets 2, Ridley gets 4. When Ellis gets 3, Ridley would get 6. My one coaching criticism from Sunday would be that when Ridley was running well in the 4th, the Patriots inexplicably went back to running with Ellis.

Thankfully, the Jets lost to Oakland. Still, this was a divisional game. Divisional losses mean more than non-divisional losses. And while Buffalo is no longer the joke of a team they once were, the Patriots shouldn't be close to losing to them.

The defense on this team is not good enough to sustain itself if the offense makes mistakes.

-The Commodore