PITTSBURGH — JuJu Smith-Schuster returned to Pittsburgh for the primary time as a customer Thursday evening, however performed like he was nonetheless at residence.
The ex-Steeler caught 4 passes for a season-high 90 yards throughout the Patriots’ 21-18 upset in primetime. Smith-Schuster’s longest catch, a 37-yard deep ball, sparked the Pats on their first opening landing drive of the season. Smith-Schuster later burst via Pittsburgh’s secondary for good points of 28 and 17 yards to gasoline the offense’s highest-scoring first half in nearly two years.
Patriots tight finish Mike Gesicki mentioned he felt blissful for his teammate enjoying effectively in opposition to his outdated workforce, and realized the importance of his first catch immediately on just a few ranges. As Smith-Schuster works via the worst statistical season of his profession (170 receiving yards in 10 video games getting into Thursday), Gesicki additionally got here to his protection.
“I feel like there’s been, for some reason, an outside, negative narrative about him, and it just couldn’t be further from the truth,” Gesicki informed the Herald. “He’s an excellent teammate, an excellent participant, and does the whole lot that the workforce asks him to do and extra. And it’s simply — this recreation’s humorous, man. You don’t know when it’s all going to pan out and when all these alternatives are going to current themselves. And tonight it did.
“(There’s) probably not too many people talking negatively about him today. And if there are, they don’t know much about football.”
Pats quarterback Bailey Zappe broke down Smith-Schuster’s first catch post-game, saying he learn a specific defender after which trusted the veteran wideout to make a contested catch.
“It was one-on-one with JuJu on the corner. It was underthrown a little bit by me. He was able to go up there and make a 50-50 catch. He’s been able to do that throughout his whole career,” Zappe mentioned. “To have the ability to throw it up there to him, see him go make that play, particularly again the place it began for him, is superior.
“For me as a quarterback, (it’s) just giving these guys chances to go make plays, and that’s what we did tonight.”
Smith-Schuster described his return as “cool” and “awesome,” whereas praising the Steelers as an excellent group. He spent the primary 5 seasons of his profession in Pittsburgh, making one Pro Bowl earlier than accidents spoiled the top of his tenure.
Smith-Schuster was one in every of three receivers obtainable on the lively roster, after accidents sidelined DeVante Parker, Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte. While the Patriots have been anticipated to take a run-heavy strategy in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster’s preliminary large play helped set the desk for a special recreation and in the end a special end result.
“I think honestly that’s for us to spread the ball out and to open up the run game. As you see later in the game, it helped us out a lot. And vice versa,” Smith-Schuster mentioned of the deep passing recreation. “Obviously these last couple weeks we’ve been heavy run, and for us to go in there and dot up some plays helped us out a lot.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com