The Patriots ran behind rookie first spherical decide Cole Strange on the 2 performs that finally sealed the win over Pittsburgh through the closing game-clinching drive Sunday.
Strange, enjoying left guard subsequent to Trent Brown, successfully dealt with Steelers stud rusher Cam Heyward on the runs by Damien Harris that closed out the sport.
Along with Brown, Strange made two key blocks on the left facet to assist spring Harris on a 9-yard run on 2nd-and-12, after which a 5-yard run on Third-and-3 with 1:51 to play to assist shut out the Steelers within the 17-14 win.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, on a video name with reporters Monday morning, identified that the Steelers had Heyward line up at defensive finish, versus the inside, quite a few instances through the sport.
But when Strange confronted Heyward on the within, significantly in that closing collection, he held his personal.
“(Heyward) did play inside some. There were some matchups in there, certainly it was a good test for Cole to go against a player of that quality,” mentioned Belichick. “I thought we were competitive. (Heyward) was disruptive, but I’ve certainly seen it worse . . . he was less disruptive than he was against Cincinnati a week ago, that’s for sure. So that was a good thing.”
Strange, taken at No. 29 within the first spherical, did need to be rescued by Brown a number of instances through the sport, nevertheless it was an indication of progress to see him have success in opposition to Heyward, a five-time Pro Bowl participant, throughout that pivotal spot.
After the sport, Patriots quarterback Mac Jones additionally lauded Strange’s efforts.
“He’s really done a great job. It’s hard coming in as a rookie and starting. And he’s done a great job,” Jones mentioned of Strange, who has struggled at time through the early going. “And he’s just got to continue to grow and improve what he wants to improve on. That’s what I’ll tell him.”
The offensive line on the whole performed effectively. Jones wasn’t sacked, and was hit simply as soon as through the sport.
There had been a number of penalties in opposition to the unit with Isaiah Wynn and David Andrews being flagged for holding, and Wynn and Michael Onwenu having false begins, however for probably the most half, the offensive line was efficient each within the move and run sport in opposition to Steelers entrance.
“Generally speaking, our pass protection was pretty good,” mentioned Belichick. “The width of the pocket was good, the depth of the pocket was good . . . overall, I’d say the pocket was pretty clean.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com