The Patriots host the Steelers in the home opener. Pittsburgh beat the Patriots the last time they were here last season 21-14 thanks to five Patriots turnovers.

New England hopes to turn things around today but they will have to do it against a Mike McCarthy led team that wants to throw the ball down the field more on offense and bring more pressure and play man on defense. It will be a difficult challenge schematically.

Here is this week’s game plan against the Steelers.

Offense

1. Slide protection to Watt and Heyward: Pittsburgh’s pass rush continues to run through T.J. Watt off the edge and Cameron Heyward pushing the interior pocket. To protect Drake Maye, New England must regularly slide the offensive line’s center-guard protection toward Heyward while ensuring the tackle on Watt’s side receives help. Sliding protection toward Heyward prevents him from isolating against single interior guards, while sending a guard or tight end chip toward Watt helps absorb his signature speed-to-power rush.

2. Run inside zone, power and counter inside: Pittsburgh’s front four loves to shoot gaps and flow fast to the perimeter. The Patriots must attack them between the tackles using inside zone, power, and counter concepts with Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson. Pulling a guard or fullback on counter plays forces Pittsburgh’s linebackers to read through heavy interior traffic, neutralizing their flow and establishing physical leverage at the point of attack.

3. 6 and 7 man pass protections with check releases: To counter Pittsburgh’s aggressive blitz packages and maintain deep-shot opportunities, New England needs to keep extra blockers in the box. Utilizing 6-man and 7-man protection schemes featuring Hunter Henry or a running back on blitzing linebackers provides a clean pocket. Once the back or tight end confirms no blitz threat, they execute a check release into the flats or hook zones as an immediate safety valve for Maye.

4. Call a fair amount of perimeter and running back screens. Especially on early downs: Slow down the Steelers’ pass rush by turning their upfield penetration against them. Calling RB screens and quick perimeter bubble screens on 1st and 2nd down punishes over-pursuing edge rushers. Getting the ball out quickly to DeMario Douglas or Henderson in space bypasses the pass rush entirely and puts playmaker dynamic speed into open field scenarios. 

5. Use 21 and 22 personnel: Deploying heavy personnel featuring two running backs or multiple tight ends forces Pittsburgh out of nickel/dime sub-packages and into base defense. This allows the Patriots to control the line of scrimmage, dictate defensive matchups, and set up high-efficiency play-action passing downfield out of run-heavy formations.

Defense

1. Mug and sim pressure is a must to confuse Rodgers: Aaron Rodgers thrives on identifying pre-snap defensive structures. By walking linebackers directly into the A and B gaps to show “mug” fronts, New England creates the illusion of an all-out blitz. Dropping those linebackers out at the snap while rushing secondary defenders (simulated pressure) forces Rodgers to hold the ball a half-second longer, disrupting the rhythm of Pittsburgh’s quick-strike passing game.

2. Split field coverages. Play man to man to Gonzalez’s side on DK Metcalf: To neutralize DK Metcalf without committing safety help across the whole field, the must line up Christian Gonzalez in press-man coverage on Metcalf. This isolation allows the Patriots defense to play split-field coverage on the opposite side—using Zone/Cover 2 or Cover 3 shells to cap the rest of Pittsburgh’s receiving threats while trusting Gonzalez to win his 1-on-1 matchup.

3. Stop the run with a 5 man box. Force Pittsburgh to run the ball: By aligning five defenders in the box and leveraging light fronts, the defense baits Pittsburgh into leaning on their ground game rather than letting Rodgers dictate terms through the air. New England’s interior defensive linemen, led by Christian Barmore, must win their individual 1-on-1 leverage battles to stop the run cleanly without needing safety support down in the box. 

4. Disguise coverage to force Rodgers to hold the ball: Showing two-high safety shells before showing a single-high Cover 3 or Cover 1 jump after the snap forces hesitation from quarterbacks, leading to poor decisions and turnover opportunities. Rodgers has seen it all so not much will fool him but the Patriots still need to move around on the back end.

5. Run a variety of T-E stunts: Pittsburgh’s offensive line can be vulnerable to lateral twist games. Executing Tackle-End (T-E) stunts—where the interior defensive tackle penetrates first to pick the guard/center, allowing the defensive end to loop inside—creates free lanes straight to the quarterback and disrupts pocket depth. 

Final Thoughts: Winning this game comes down to execution in the trenches and controlling the clock. Offensively, protecting Drake Maye with max protection and disciplined slides will be the key to neutralizing Pittsburgh’s high-caliber edge rushers. Defensively, forcing the Steelers into predictable third-and-long situations where simulated pressures can flourish will give the Patriots the ultimate edge at home.