NFL Week 14 Thursday Night Football Review: Belichick's Team Looks Like Pats Of Old In Shocking Win Over Pittsburgh

    

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New England Patriots 21, Pittsburgh Steelers 18

This one did not go at all the way I expected it to.

Nope, the Patriots looked like the Pats of old. Or at least of a few years ago. That team pretty much seemed to have Pittsburgh's number.

Yet these Patriots were different. And so were the Steelers. Not long ago, Pittsburgh owned a record of 6-3. Just a week ago today, they owned an impressive record of 7-4, and looked like a sure bet for the playoffs, the way that they were playing.

Now, they made some bad history. According to the broadcast announcers in yesterday's game, which included the legendary Al Michaels, pointed out that the Steelers became the first team with a winning record to lose two consecutive games to teams with records at least eight games under .500. Not the kind of history you want to make, especially if you're fighting to make the postseason. 

Indeed, this one looked like a clear mismatch. The fact that the Steelers were coming off that stunning letdown at home against the Cardinals seemed to bode well. After all, most people - myself included, admittedly - figured that the loss to Arizona served as a wake-up call.

Instead, the Pats came out firing. They played extremely well, and jumped all over the Steelers early on. They took a commanding 21-3 lead midway through the second quarter. Pittsburgh got a touchdown late in the quarter, but New England still owned a 21-10 lead by halftime.

Pittsburgh had some chances in the second half. Indeed, they kept the Pats off the scoreboard in the second half, and they forced some big mistakes and turnovers. They just could not quite convert those opportunities into points, as New England, rather shockingly, hang on and hand the Steelers a second straight home defeat against a team with one of the worst records in the league. 

As a result, the Steelers, for now, find themselves on the outside of the AFC playoff picture, coming in. They are still in better shape than most, but they have compromised their formerly solid position with three losses in their past four games. In their remaining four games, they will visit the Colts, another AFC playoff contender, then play both the Bengals and the Ravens within their division, and also visit Seattle. Not the easiest road if they will reach the playoffs, but let's see what happens. 

My pick: Inaccurate