PITTSBURGH — Not many teams beat the Steelers. Tom Brady not only beats them, he embarrasses them.
Brady maintained his mastery of the Steelers, throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski and scoring once himself, and the Patriots bounced back from a humbling 20-point loss by beating Pittsburgh 39-26 on Sunday night.
No NFL team wins more on its home field than Pittsburgh, but no opposing player wins there like Brady, who has won six of seven overall against the Steelers and four of five at Heinz Field. He was 30-of-43 for 350 yards with no sacks or interceptions, and now has 14 career TD throws and three interceptions against the Steelers.
“They beat us in all phases,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.
The Patriots and AFC East-rival Jets are tied for the conference’s top record at 7-2.
“We made big plays when we needed to make them,” Brady said. “It’s an exciting game for us in this locker room. We haven’t been this happy in a long time. We’re pretty good when we execute the right way.”
The Browns beat the Patriots 34-14 last week.
“That’s the NFL,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “If you knew what was going to happen in this league (from week to week), you’d make a lot of money.”
