PITTSBURGH — The Patriots needed this one.
After absorbing gut punch after gut punch over the previous month-plus, including the ignominy of becoming the first team in 85 years to lose three straight games without allowing more than 10 points, New England finally broke through Thursday night, winning 21-18 over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots’ playoff hopes have been dead for weeks, so this result will be remembered as little more than a footnote in a lost season. But the relief in the visitors’ locker room at Acrisure Stadium was palpable.
“We deserved today,” said quarterback Bailey Zappe, who made his second consecutive start and tossed three first-half touchdown passes as New England snapped a five-game losing skid.