New England Patriots: 5 observations from Week 15 win over Steelers

Finish the Job

Ben Roethlisberger is a big dude. Not just tall, but… wide. There’s a reason they call him Big Ben, afterall. Due to his size, Roethlisberger is incredibly hard to take down.

With that said, the Patriots must bring him down when they have him dead to rights. For the amount of times the Patriots got hands on Ben, the amount of sacks they recorded was embarrassing. They only had two sacks on the day.

Historically, the Patriots have been burned by QBs who have narrowly avoided a sack. A certain catch involving a man, a helmet, and super glue comes to mind.

Yesterday, the Patriots had Big Ben wrapped up multiple times, and multiple times he put together an escape that would make Harry Houdini jealous. That can’t happen moving forward.

When the Patriots have the opposing quarterback wrapped up, they have to bring him down. Plain and simple. I get that Big Ben was named after a giant tower in London, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be taken down.

Often, when Ben escaped the arms of the Patriots defensive line, he found an open receiver and hit him for a big gain. Again, unacceptable. The Patriots should have had at least 5 sacks.

If the Patriots put Roethlisberger on his tuchus, the game would have been totally different. Of course, I’m speaking retrospectively. But in the future, the New England Patriots need to finish the play. When he’s wrapped up, don’t let him out of your grasp. That’s how games are lost.