The New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers meet on “Thursday Night Football” at a point of desperation for both franchises.
At 2-10, the Patriots are off to the worst start of any team in the Bill Belichick era. New England became the first team in 85 years to lose three consecutive games in which it had given up 10 points or fewer.
The Steelers (7-5), meanwhile, have dropped two of their last three games and are coming off a 24-10 loss at home to the struggling Arizona Cardinals. Starting quarterback Kenny Pickett has been ruled out for the game after undergoing ankle surgery on Monday, leaving backup Mitchell Trubisky to take the reins to the offense.
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Patriots 7, Steelers 0: In a shocker: Patriots get into end zone on first possession; T.J. Watt injured on first play
After being held scoreless in Week 13, the Patriots scored a touchdown on their opening drive against the Steelers.
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Bailey Zappe led the Patriots on an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off by an 11-yard touchdown pass to running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott had two catches in the series. The Patriots got into scoring range after an impressive 37-yard catch by wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster that put the ball on Pittsburgh’s 26-yard line.
The Patriots haven’t scored more than…
