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Cassel Stormed by Steelers
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The Patriots had first-half leads of 7-0 and 10-3. But in a half filled with dropped passes and dropped interceptions, the two biggest gaffes were committed by Moss. He dropped an on-target deep throw by Cassel. And in the final seconds of the first half, he dropped a potential touchdown.
The game began with Roethlisberger throwing a pass directly to linebacker Mike Vrabel for an interception that ended the Steelers' opening drive. That put the Patriots in position for a two-yard touchdown run by tailback Sammy Morris.
The Steelers drove to the Patriots 2-yard line, but Tomlin opted against a fourth-and-one gamble from there after Parker, in the lineup after aggravating a knee injury during a triumph over the Cincinnati Bengals 10 days before, was stopped for no gain on third down. Reed's first field goal got the Steelers to 7-3.
Stephen Gostkowski's second-quarter field goal for New England upped the lead to 10-3, but the Steelers got even on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Holmes. Cassel led the Patriots on a two-minute drive and managed a first down at the Steelers 9. Moss got open the back of the end zone, and Cassel got the ball to him, but Moss dropped it. The Steelers dropped an interception on the next play, and then Gostkowksi capped the stumble-and-bumble routine by sending a 27-yard field goal try wide right.
The Steelers drove to Reed's second field goal of the day in the third quarter, then the Patriots started fumbling. Matthew Slater lost a fumble on the following kickoff, and the Steelers cashed in on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Ward.
Harrison's first strip of the ball from Cassel led to another Reed field goal. Then Harrison sprinted around Patriots left tackle Matt Light and did it again, but Reed missed from 40 yards. No matter.
Cassel followed by throwing an interception to Polamalu on a pass that deflected off the hands of tight end Benjamin Watson, and Reed added his fourth field goal. Timmons returned an interception 89 yards to the 1, and tailback Gary Russell took it in from there.
"They just made more mistakes than we did," Ward said. "It's a great feeling to go on the road and do that. To have the schedule we've had and to be 9-3 right now, who would have predicted that?"
