FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots trolled the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday and then blew them out Sunday night.
A day after the acquiring former Steelers malcontent Antonio Brown, the defending Super Bowl champions showed they might not even need him, getting 341 yards and three touchdown passes from 42-year-old Tom Brady to beat Pittsburgh 33-3.
Phillip Dorsett caught two touchdown passes, including a 58-yard score, and Josh Gordon — another disgruntled receiver who wore out his welcome elsewhere — caught one TD pass. On the night New England unveiled its sixth NFL championship banner, Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman caught six passes for 83 yards and also completed a throw to help the Patriots begin their quest for back-to-back titles.
The last team to do that: New England in 2003 and ‘04.
Facing the last team to beat them, the Patriots opened a 20-0 lead before Pittsburgh kicked a field goal on fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 10:17 left in the third quarter. Brady responded with a 58-yard touchdown pass to Dorsett and a 27-3 lead.
Dorsett, who will be moving down the depth chart Monday when the Patriots make Brown’s signing official, had four catches for 95 yards and the first multi-score game of his career.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 27 of 47 passes for 277 yards and an interception, with much of the production coming on non-scoring drives in garbage time. The offense showed the effects of losing two of its biggest playmakers: Brown, who talked and tweeted his way out of both Pittsburgh and Oakland in one offseason, and running back Le’Veon Bell, a two-time All-Pro who sat out all of last season to avoid a franchise tag.
In their place, James Conner gained 21 yards on 10 carries; the Steelers gained only 32 yards rushing in all. Top receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster caught six passes for 78 yards, 26 of it coming on one throw in the final six minutes with the Steelers already trailing 33-3.
The drive ended when Roethlisberger threw it into the end zone from the 41-yard line and was picked off by Devin McCourty.
The Steelers had five full possessions in the first half and punted on four of them, going three-and-out three times.
AB NEGATIVE
Brown, who asked for and was granted his release by Oakland on Saturday morning and then agreed to terms with the Patriots in the afternoon, and was not yet eligible to play.
There was no sign of him at the stadium. The Patriots are expected to announce on Monday the one-year deal that will guarantee the four-time All-Pro $9 million. Coach Bill Belichick declined to comment on Brown during the Patriots pregame radio show.