The 2018 New England Patriots can best be described as a Jekyll-and-Hyde team: one moment they can look dominant and play like one of the best teams in the NFL, the next they produce breakdowns and make cheap mistakes. This lack of consistency was on display all season long so far, during the team’s victories as well as its losses. Today’s defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers is no different in this regard.
While certain areas looked good — the Patriots were mostly able to limit the impact Steelers wide receivers Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster had on the contest, registered two takeaways, and generally performed well in the kicking game — others were without a doubt concerning and played a big role in New England coming up short in a close matchup that was ultimately decided by just seven points.