Dec 23, 2017 5 min read

There is an old axiom that history is written by the conquerors. And, in the annals of history, that is certainly the case.

So why is it there are so many bad narratives out there regarding the outcome of last the New England Patriots’ 27-24 victory over the Steelers?

Never mind whether or not the Jesse James catch at the end of regulation was a touchdown. The NFL rule on players completing a catch all the way to the ground is a bad one. But it’s the rule. And by the letter of that rule, James did not complete the catch.

No, the false narrative to which I refer is the one that says the Patriots were better prepared for what transpired in the game’s closing moments than the Steelers.

Yes, the team that allowed a 69-yard catch-and-run with a three-point lead and then had three players follow Darrius Heyward-Bey on a route out of the backfield, leaving James wide open in the middle of the field with 34 seconds remaining was somehow the more composed, better-coached team.

Sure, why not?

But, if James’ catch had not been overturned, would that then mean that Mike Tomlin and company outcoached Bill Belichick and his coaching staff?

Take Rob Gronkowski out of New England’s lineup two plays into the second quarter, which is essentially what happened to the Steelers when Antonio Brown was knocked out of the game with a calf injury. Think the Patriots are throwing into the end zone at the end of the game with a chance to win it?

That, however, is not what happened. The Patriots won the game. But the narrative that the Steelers were outplayed or outcoached in that game is, quite frankly, false.

If James stays on his feet, he backs into the end zone and scores untouched. And catches the ball cleanly.

If defensive back Sean Davis holds onto a pass tipped by defensive end Cam Heyward at the line of scrimmage on New England’s final touchdown drive, the game’s over.

If Roethlisberger sees Eli Rogers breaking open in the middle of the field on third-and-four with the Steelers leading 24-19 and 2:23 remaining instead of throwing the ball to JuJu Smith-Schuster for a three-yard gain, again, the narrative is completely different.

Or, if Roethlisberger throws the ball away on second down instead of checking down to Heyward-Bey on a crossing route, or on a throw to Rogers, the Steelers get a chance to, at the very least, kick a game-tying field goal.

If Eric Rowe is called for holding Rogers on the Steelers’ final offensive play – he had a big handful of jersey before tipping the ball into the air – Roethlisberger isn’t intercepted.

This narrative that the Patriots were somehow coached better or better kept their composure is, again, false.

“Composure? It’s football,” said Heyward-Bey. “We had a play. They made an interception. They got lucky. Composure? I’m not buying into that.”

So where do the Steelers go now, other than Houston Monday afternoon?

The silver lining to the loss to New England is that it wasn’t season-ending like the one suffered at Gillette Stadium last season.

On that day, the Patriots were clearly the better team.

That was not the case last Sunday.

And the Steelers get cornerback Joe Haden, right tackle Marcus Gilbert and tight end Vance McDonald back this week.

Brown will be back for the playoffs.

The Patriots will get some players back, as well, for a potential rematch, including receiver Chris Hogan.

But the Steelers are the more talented team, all things considered.

They just have to figure out a way to cover Gronkowski.

Everyone wanted to see the Steelers play more man-to-man defense against New England’s receivers. They did that and the Patriots got eight receptions for 94 yards and one touchdown from Gronkowski.

But Gronkowski, a 6-6, 265-pound tight end, is New England’s man-to-man defense beater. He’s a zone defense beater, as well, but Gronkowski is particularly difficult to deal with in man coverage.

The task of the coaching staff will be to come up with a plan to slow Gronkowski in a potential rematch. If, that is, the Buffalo Bills don’t take a run at him today for his cheap shot on cornerback Tre’Davious White when they met three weeks ago.

Short of Gronkowski getting hurt – and I’m not advocating that – the Steelers need a better plan than putting the 6-1, 210-pound Davis on him.

The Steelers have tried different things against Gronkowski over the years, from using Troy Polamalu to doubling him to, and this was a crazy approach, not covering him at all.

None have worked.

Perhaps using rookie linebacker T.J. Watt at times might be worth a shot. No outside linebacker in the league has dropped into pass coverage more than Watt this season, though that has typically been in zone coverage.

Houston’s J.J. Watt, T.J.’s older brother and a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, said he had that thought while watching the game.

“I was like ‘Yeah, let’s see what he can do. Toss him out there. Maybe he can, maybe he can’t,'” the elder Watt said. “He has great coverage skills.”

At 6-4, 250 pounds, Watt has the size and speed to at least give Gronkowski issues. And as a former college tight end, he has an idea of what Gronkowski is trying to accomplish.