The New England Patriots bounced back to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, 17-14. While there's still plenty of room for improvement heading into Week 3, the offense inspired some optimism.
The offensive line, in particular, showed major improvement after a rough Week 1. Pittsburgh's defense didn't tally a sack on quarterback Mac Jones and New England's running game shined, totaling 118 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries.
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There were plenty of bright spots. But to our Phil Perry, the performance of the big men up front was the biggest takeaway from the Patriots' much-needed win.
"It was a massive confidence boost for this offensive line given what they were able to do at the end of the game," Perry said. "Where they take possession with just over six minutes left, and they are able to salt away the clock with a little bit of new-school Patriots mixed with a little bit of the old-school Patriots.
"I had them down for three gap-style runs at the end of that drive for six yards, eight yards, and then 16 yards for Damien Harris. Even though they had the shotgun, you had guards moving the way that we have seen the Patriots offensive line do for years and years and years. And then they finish the game with back-to-back wide-zone runs, so that's that new-school Patriots running game that they worked on really all summer and they ended up with gains of 10 and five yards.
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"Both David Andrews and Cole Strange told me after the game, they showed they can be versatile. That no matter what the scheme is, they have the ability to execute it. I thought it was a massive confidence boost for that group, which has been much maligned really going back to the beginning of August."
Patriots assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates joined the team on the sideline for the first half after spending the entirety of the Week 1 loss to Miami in the booth. Perry believes Yates' presence was a legitimate difference-maker in the victory.
"I thought it freed up Matt Patricia to bounce around and talk to multiple different position groups, quarterbacks being foremost among those," Perry said. "So for me, today, to see the offensive line play the way that it did, to be as improved as they were, it's no surprise that they had a little bit of help in-between series to show that they can improve when they're getting maybe the right kind of coaching on the sidelines. I thought that was a significant change today."
New England will look to get a similar showing from its o-line next week when the Baltimore Ravens come to town. The Week 3 matchup is set for 1 p.m. ET Sunday at Gillette Stadium.