After their road win in Miami, the Patriots returned home to face the Steelers, who the Patriots had not lost to since 2004. On the opening kickoff, Patriots linebacker Vince Redd forced a fumble of Carey Davis at the Steelers' 20-yard line that Davis eventually recovered; an unnecessary roughness penalty by the Steelers' Keyaron Fox meant the Steelers would begin their first drive from their own 10-yard line. Four plays in, Vrabel intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 5 yards to give the Patriots the ball at the Steelers' 14-yard line. After a Welker reception moved the ball to the Steelers' 2-yard line, Morris ran in for a 2-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead. The Steelers' ensuing possession went three-and-out, but a holding penalty by Aiken on the punt moved the Patriots back to the Steelers' 20-yard line. A 27-yard Moss catch on the next play would help the Patriots reach midfield, but a third-down sack of Cassel set up a Patriots punt, which was returned by the Steelers' Santonio Holmes for 29 yards. Following a 21-yard reception by tight end Heath Miller to begin the drive, the Steelers moved further into Patriots territory on two Nate Washington catches of 15 and 16 yards, both on third down. The Steelers then failed to score from the Patriots' 2-yard line on third down, setting up a 20-yard Jeff Reed field goal to cut the Patriots' lead to 7-3. Three plays into the Patriots' next drive, Moss dropped a pass after he beat his defender inside the Steelers' 35-yard line, eventually setting up another Patriots punt on the final play of the quarter. An exchange of three three-and-outs began the second quarter, leading to Patriots drive that began from their own 40-yard line. A fourth down conversion put the Patriots in the Steelers' red zone, but the Patriots were unable to reach the end zone and settled for a 29-yard Gostkowski field goal that extended their lead to 10-3. Following a 31-yard Gary Russell kick return that gave the Steelers the ball at their own 37-yard line, the Steelers moved 63 yards on 9 plays, capping their drive with a 19-yard Holmes touchdown catch to tie the game at 10 with just under two minutes left in the half. Two plays later, the Patriots found themselves in Steelers' territory again following a 41-yard Faulk run; 35 seconds remained in the first half by the time the Patriots reached the Steelers' 9-yard line on a first down. The Patriots' next three plays would be Cassel pass attempts to Moss; the second of which was dropped by a leaping Moss in the back of the end zone. On fourth down, Gostkowski's 27-yard field goal attempt was no good to keep the game tied at 10 going into halftime. Following a 23-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor to begin the second half, the Patriots moved into Steelers' territory, but another sack of Cassel forced a Patriots punt. Starting from their own 14-yard line, the Steelers responded by embarking on a 14-play, 79-drive that reached the Patriots' 7-yard line on a second down but no further; a 25-yard Reed field goal gave the Steelers their first lead of the game, 13-10. With Hobbs, the usual kick returner, on the sidelines vomiting and suffering from cramps, Slater took the ensuing kickoff; the rookie muffed the catch and the fumble was recovered by Fox at the Patriots' 8-yard line. Two plays later, Roethlisberger hit wide receiver Hines Ward for an 11-yard touchdown reception to extend the Steelers' lead to 20-10. Faulk stepped in as kick returner for the next kickoff, which he returned to the Patriots' 29-yard line. However, on the next play, Cassel was strip-sacked by Steelers linebacker James Harrison; the fumble was recovered by linebacker LaMarr Woodley at the Patriots' 26-yard line. Despite a 19-yard Miller catch to begin the Steelers' possession, the Patriots forced the Steelers to kick a field goal; Reed's 20-yard kick gave the Steelers a 23-10 lead. Hobbs came back to return the next kickoff, which began the Patriots' drive from their own 35-yard line. Three plays in, Welker was hit from behind by Steelers safety Ryan Clark after a Cassel pass attempt was tipped; Clark was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty to move the Patriots in Steelers' territory. On 3rd-and-11 from the Steelers' 48-yard line, Cassel was again strip-sacked by Harrison; this time linebacker James Farrior recovered the fumble at the Patriots' 47-yard line. The Steelers next drive began on the final play of the third quarter and reached as far as the Patriots' 22-yard line, where Reed missed a 40-yard field goal to give the Patriots the ball back at their own 30-yard line. The Patriots proceeded to move into Steelers' territory, but on 3rd-and-13 from the Steelers' 43-yard line, a Cassel pass intended for Watson was intercepted by safety Troy Polamalu at the Steelers' 11-yard line and returned for 23 yards in the Patriots' fourth turnover of the second half. Three plays later, a 31-yard Willie Parker moved the Steelers to the Patriots' 28-yard line; they would get as far as the Patriots' 22-yard line before Reed kicked a 45-yard field goal to extend the Steelers' lead to 26-10. With less than six minutes remaining in the game, the Patriots began their next series from their own 44-yard line after Reed's kick was returned from the Patriots' 30-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Cassel found Gaffney open inside the Steelers' 25-yard line, but the wide receiver dropped the pass; Taylor threw the ball back toward Gaffney after the play, drawing a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that moved the Patriots into Steelers' territory. Seven plays later, on a first down from the Steelers' 14-yard line, Cassel was intercepted by linebacker Lawrence Timmons, who returned it 89 yards before being tackled at the Patriots' 1-yard line by Watson. Two plays later, Russell ran in for a 1-yard touchdown that gave the Steelers a 33-10 lead with less than three minutes to go in the game. The Patriots could not score on their next possession, ending the game and dropping the Patriots' record to 7-5.

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