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Brady, Patriots beat Steelers

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New England linebacker Dont’a Hightower (54) wraps up Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) despite a block by Steelers guard Cody Wallace (72) in the first half Thursday night. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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New England tight end Rob Gronkowski scores his second touchdown over Pittsburgh safety Mike Mitchell in the first half of the NFL: season opener Thursday. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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New England fans hold signs referring to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell during a game between the Patriots and the Pittsburgh SteelersThursday in Foxborough, Mass.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tom Brady was on the field for New England Thursday night against the Steelers and, at least according to Pittsburgh, the Patriots were up to their old tricks.

Brady, who won his court battle with the league last week to negate a four-game suspension for his alleged role in the deflation of footballs before the AFC Championship last year, threw four touchdown passes – three of which went to All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski – as New England defeated Pittsburgh, 28-21, in the NFL season opener.

It was nothing new for Brady and Gronkowski, and neither was an issue the Steelers coaching staff said it had with headsets during the first half.

“That’s always the case,” Tomlin said of games in New England. “We were listening to the Patriots radio broadcast for the majority of the first half.”

The Steelers brought the situation to the attention of league officials and the situation was fixed in the second half. But that situation and the Steelers squandering numerous scoring opportunities led to a loss.

“It goes back to where we left off last year,” said guard Ramon Foster. “We have to execute better in the red zone. We can’t start slow. We’ve got to come out hot.”

The Steelers didn’t and New England took a 14-0 lead on a pair of Brady touchdown passes to Gronkowski. At one point, Brady completed 19 consecutive passes – breaking his own franchise record – and finished 25 of 32 for 288 yards.

Kicker Josh Scobee, acquired last week from Jacksonville for a sixth-round draft pick after injuries to Shaun Suisham and Garrett Hartley, missed field goal attempts of 44 and 46 yards in the first half.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 351 yards, one touchdown and one interception, delivered a pass to a wide open Darrius Heyward-Bey in the end zone late in the first half and the receiver had to go to his knees to catch it, with the tip of his right foot brushing out of bounds as he did so.

“I’ve got to do a better job of knowing where the line is there,” admitted Heyward-Bey, who was playing in place of suspended receiver Martavis Bryant.

The Steelers settled for a Scobee field goal from 44 yards and trailed 14-3 at the half despite outgaining the Patriots 212-200.

New England made it 21-3 on Brady’s third touchdown pass, this one to tight end Scott Chandler, before the Steelers turned the tide.

DeAngelo Williams, who rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries in his debut with the Steelers while subbing for suspended Le’Veon Bell, broke off a 28-yard run to set up fullback Will Johnson’s first career touchdown, a 1-yard plunge. Roethlisberger completed a two-point conversion pass to Markus Wheaton to make it 21-11.

The Steelers forced a punt on New England’s next possession and drove to the Patriots’ 1-yard line after a defensive interference penalty in the end zone. Roethlisberger had to throw away a first-down pass and Johnson was stuffed just short of the goal on second down.

A false start penalty on left tackle Kelvin Beachum as the Patriots shifted their defensive line pushed the Steelers back to the 5 and Williams was stuffed on a draw, forcing another Scobee field goal that cut New England’s lead to 21-14.

“We’ve got to score touchdowns in those situations,” said Foster. “We shot ourselves in the foot.”

Brady then went back to Gronkowski, who slipped behind rookie linebacker Bud Dupree, for a 52-yard catch-and-run to the Pittsburgh 26.

Safety Mike Mitchell forced a fumble by running back Dion Lewis at the 4-yard line but Gronkowski alertly fell on the loose ball inside the 1. Brady threw a third TD pass to Gronkowski on third down to make it 28-14 with just over nine minutes to play.

The Steelers went three-and-out for the only time in the game on their next possession but forced a New England punt. Roethlisberger, however, was intercepted on a deep pass from the Patriots’ 46. The Steelers did score to make it 28-21 on an 11-yard TD catch by Antonio Brown with seven seconds remaining. Brown had nine catches for 133 yards.

“It was closer, maybe, than the score indicated there,” said Tomlin. “We’ve got to score in some of those instances. We’ve got to finish drives better offensively. We’ve got to finish drives better defensively. Sometimes, they’re going to go down the field. We’ve got to stand up in the red zone and make them settle for three. Little things like that are the difference in the outcome of games.”

The Steelers’ inactive list included a couple of surprises in third-round draft pick Sammie Coates and fifth-rounder Jesse James. With Coates inactive, rookie Tyler Murphy was the fourth receiver. … Brown’s 100-yard game was the 17th of his career, fourth most in Steelers’ history. … Dupree had a sack on his first defensive snap. Safety Will Allen also had a sack, the first of his 12-year NFL career. … Linebacker Sean Spence suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and did not return. … Allen suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and did not return.

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