Steelers head to Foxborough thin at receiver, leaning on their defense

 Byline: Wilson Simons

    FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Pittsburgh Steelers will play their first road game of 2026 without their No. 1 cornerback, without their leading receiver from Week 1, and with a rookie who has played three offensive snaps in his career penciled into a starting role.

    Kickoff against the New England Patriots is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

    Joey Porter Jr. was ruled out Friday with a back injury, the second straight week he will not play. His week was an adventure. Wednesday's report listed him as limited for conditioning alone and dropped the back injury entirely. Thursday, after coach Mike McCarthy said the plan was for Porter to do more than he had the day before, the cornerback left practice with a trainer roughly 30 minutes in and did not return. The back designation was back on the report that night. Asante Samuel Jr. will start in his place, with rookie Daylen Everette expected to see work.

    Michael Pittman Jr., who led Pittsburgh with 58 yards on three catches in his Steelers debut, was downgraded to out Saturday with a foot injury after missing Thursday and Friday. That leaves DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson as the starters, with second-round rookie Germie Bernard jumping from three offensive snaps in Week 1 to a real role. Right tackle Troy Fautanu (ankle) is questionable after a full Friday walkthrough.

    

    Metcalf needs the game more than the targets. He finished the 20-13 win over Atlanta with three drops and two offensive pass interference penalties, and he draws Christian Gonzalez on Sunday. The All-Pro was inactive for last year's meeting, when Carlton Davis III shadowed Metcalf and gave up a touchdown.

    "He's obviously a very strong, physical receiver, very fast, can run," Gonzalez said Wednesday. "I respect his game."

    Davis will not be available to help. He was downgraded to out with a neck injury after missing all three practices.

    The rest of the Patriots' secondary gets a break anyway, because the Steelers' most reliable weapons are not receivers. Pat Freiermuth played 73 percent of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps in Week 1, the highest share of any skill player on the roster, and caught the offense's only touchdown, a 6-yard score from Aaron Rodgers. Darnell Washington was next at 64 percent. With Pittman out and Bernard unproven, those two are the most likely destination for Rodgers' targets on early downs and in the red zone.

    New England will counter with tight ends of its own. Eli Raridon caught a 2-yard touchdown from Drake Maye for the first score of the Patriots' season, and Hunter Henry remains the veteran starter.

    The Patriots come in at 0-1 after a 13-10 loss at Seattle, a rematch of Super Bowl LX that went the same direction as the first one. New England led by 10 midway through the third quarter and did not score again. Maye threw interceptions on each of the club's final three possessions, finishing 23 of 33 for 178 yards with one touchdown and three picks for a 54.9 rating.

    That game was played Wednesday, Sept. 9, giving New England 11 days to prepare — an unusual advantage for a Week 2 home opener.

    The Patriots also lost their marquee offseason addition. A.J. Brown left in the third quarter with an ankle injury and was placed on injured reserve. Romeo Doubs, signed for four years and $68 million, went without a catch on three targets in his debut. One was tipped and intercepted; another was a fourth-quarter drop on a would-be 33-yard gain, with Maye throwing a pick on the next snap.

    "I just wasn't locked in," Doubs said. "The video speaks for itself. I'll be better moving forward."

    Doubs will see plenty of Rodgers on Sunday from the wrong sideline. His first career touchdown came from Rodgers in Green Bay, and he caught the quarterback's 500th.

    Pittsburgh's pass rush is the reason Maye's margin for error is thin. T.J. Watt was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after a 35-yard pick-six, two sacks, three tackles for loss and four tackles against Atlanta. It was the ninth such award of his career, tying Chris Doleman, Bruce Smith and Lawrence Taylor for the most all time, and the interception made him and Julius Peppers the only players with 100 sacks and 10 picks.

    Neither running game gave its quarterback much help in Week 1. The Steelers managed 58 yards on 21 carries, including three kneel-downs. The Patriots ran 31 times for 109 yards, and 47 of those came on Maye scrambles.

    Both backfields are committees. Rico Dowdle played 58 percent of Pittsburgh's snaps but turned 10 touches into 21 all-purpose yards, while Jaylen Warren played 37 percent and produced 73 yards on 15 touches. New England gets TreVeyon Henderson back from the ankle injury that cost him the opener. He carries no game designation after three full practices and ranked fifth among qualified backs at 5.1 yards per carry as a rookie.

    Prediction: Steelers 16, Patriots 13

    This one has the feel of a game decided by a field goal and a turnover, not by anything either offense does well. Pittsburgh scored 20 against Atlanta and needed a pick-six to get there. New England put up 10 and went scoreless over the final 20 minutes. Now the Steelers are down their leading receiver and starting a rookie who has three career snaps, the Patriots are without their best receiver and their second corner, and neither team ran the ball effectively in Week 1. Somebody is going to have to win this with defense and field position. I'll take the side with T.J. Watt, and I'll admit the homer bias up front — but 11 days of rest and a home crowd are real, and I don't think this is comfortable. Steelers 16, Patriots 13.