Patriots' defense smothers Rodgers in a 20–3 home win
By Jordan Vance
Aaron Rodgers had one touchdown pass in 79 attempts through two games, and it showed Sunday. New England's defense smothered him from start to finish, and the Patriots won 20–3 at home.
New England's pressure was the whole story. Aaron Rodgers finished 23-of-39 for 187 yards with an interception, no touchdowns, and four sacks. He fumbled twice. One of them was a fourth-quarter strip-sack by Christian Barmore that Elijah Ponder scooped and returned 19 yards for a touchdown, pushing a 13–3 lead to 20–3. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez shadowed DK Metcalf at times, holding him to 4 catches on 9 targets for 27 yards and forcing Rodgers to look elsewhere. Pittsburgh managed 235 yards and finished with a single field goal.
TreVeyon Henderson made his season debut count. He replaced Rhamondre Stevenson after Stevenson lost a fumble. Stevenson finished with 6 carries for 43 yards. Henderson ran for 76 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, including a 39-yard score, and he was not targeted. Drake Maye finished 14-of-22 for 208 yards and an interception. Romeo Doubs led New England with 3 catches for 96 yards on 4 targets, including a 63-yarder that set up a field goal. Doubs had no catches in his Patriots debut last week.
Jaylen Warren was one of the few bright spots for Pittsburgh, with 11 carries for 43 yards and 2 catches for 34. Pittsburgh still reached New England's 17-yard line with under five minutes left before a pass for Germie Bernard was bobbled and intercepted by Gabe Jacas.
Fantasy winners: Henderson's season debut is the real signal here — a 76-yard, one-score game on 16 carries is a strong workload if it holds up going forward. Doubs' 96-yard day on 4 targets is efficient enough to be worth a look even without huge volume.
Fantasy questions: Rodgers has thrown one touchdown pass through two full games, and the sack and turnover numbers are piling up — a real concern for anyone rostering him or Pittsburgh's passing-game pieces right now. Metcalf's day against Gonzalez (27 yards on 9 targets) is worth remembering the next time he draws a top cornerback.