Drake Maye, Patriots seek rebound vs. Aaron Rodgers, Steelers

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) During his 24 seasons with the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick never held back in expressing his affinity for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

From the praise he showered on the Steelers' ownership, to the team's success on the field - currently tied with New England with an NFL-best six Super Bowl wins - Belichick talked about Pittsburgh with reverence.

The past and future for both franchises will be on display in Sunday's latest matchup.

The Steelers (1-0) are coming off the successful debut of new coach Mike McCarthy following the departure of Mike Tomlin, and a vintage effort from 42-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers in their opening win over Atlanta.

“I feel really good,” Rodgers said. “Legs feel good. Feel good moving around, and I feel like I’m just going to keep on getting better.”

While the reunion between Rodgers and McCarthy has brought a new dynamic to this incarnation of the Steelers, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said the expectations are always the same when the Pittsburgh is on the opposing sideline.

“I think the Steelers is the identity,” Vrabel said. “The Steelers are going to be the Steelers. They’re big and they’re long and they’re going to try to force the quarterback into making mistakes."

The Patriots (0-1) will be entering their second home opener under Vrabel, the architect of New England's renaissance in the post-Tom Brady era, and with a third-year quarterback in Drake Maye whose post-Super Bowl run honeymoon appears to be over following one of the worst performances of his young career in last week's 13-10 loss to Seattle.

It marked the first time in his NFL career that Maye's thrown three interceptions in a game. Turnovers also were an issue in last season's loss to Pittsburgh, in which the Patriots had five giveaways.

One option Maye won't have this week is wide receiver A.J. Brown, who left the Seattle loss with a high-ankle sprain. He has since been placed on injured reserve and will miss at least four games.

Maye said that overcoming Brown's absence must start with him.

“I think based on last week I need to elevate my game in general. I’m trying to be the best I can back there and strive to have games like last year where I am close to completing every pass,” Maye said. “It’s a team effort and realizing that a lot of guys need to step up and do extra things and strain a little bit harder for us to keep going in the right direction.”

Pittsburgh (1-0) at New England (0-1)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS

Latest odds: Patriots by 5

Against the spread: Steelers 1-0; Patriots 0-0-1.

Last week: Steelers beat the Falcons 20-13; Patriots lose to the Seahawks 13-10.

Last meeting: Steelers beat the Patriots 21-14 on Sept. 21, 2025, in Foxborough, Mass,

Series record: Patriots lead 19-17.

Steelers defensive line vs. Patriots offensive line: New England did a decent job protecting Maye in Week 1. But the Patriots struggled to run the ball, gaining only 109 yards (3.5 per carry) against Seattle, leaving New England ranked 17th in the NFL in rushing entering Week 2. Pittsburgh allowed Atlanta only 3.9 yards per rush in the Steelers' Week 1 win.

- The status of Pittsburgh CB Joey Porter Jr. is uncertain. The 26-year-old sat out Week 1 and was limited in practice this week while recovering from a back injury, all set against the backdrop of stalled contract negotiations that have put his long-term future with the team in doubt.

- Steelers LB T.J. Watt’s late pick-6 against Atlanta last week put him in some pretty elite company. Watt joined Hall of Famer Julius Peppers as the only players in NFL history to have 100 sacks and 10 interceptions.

- Pittsburgh’s victory in the opener marked the 164th regular-season win as a starting quarterback for Rodgers, leaving him one shy of tying former Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger for fifth on the NFL’s career list.

- The Steelers are hoping to get the running game going after a shaky performance against the Falcons. Pittsburgh averaged just 2.8 yards per carry, though Jaylen Warren churned out a clock-draining first down late in the fourth quarter.

- Patriots TE Hunter Henry enters the game with 2,999 receiving yards (fourth in team history) in his six seasons in New England. With another more yard he'll join Rob Gronkowski (7,861), Ben Coates 5,471) and Russ Francis 3,157) as the only Patriot tight ends to reach 3,000.

- New England's offense could get a boost with RB TreVeyon Henderson on track to return from an ankle injury that kept him sidelined last week against the Seahawks. Henderson rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns as a rookie last season.

- Pittsburgh will be the second of four straight Patriots opponents to open the season against teams that made the playoffs a year ago. New England is the ninth team in the past 40 seasons to begin its schedule with four consecutive playoff teams from the previous year.

- Vrabel is looking to avoid just the second 0-2 start of his eight-year coaching career. The Titans started 0-2 during his fifth season in Tennessee in 2022 on the way to a 7-10 finish.

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