Cole Holcomb Names Steelers’ Top Defensive Priority Against Patriots

Last season, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye finished second in MVP voting during his sophomore campaign. Ahead of their Week 2 matchup against Maye and the Patriots, however, the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t focusing their defensive efforts on the passing game.

When asked about the game plan to stop the Patriots’ offense, Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb stressed the need to slow down New England’s rushing attack.

“Anytime you can make a team one dimensional, it gets very hard for them,” Holcomb said via Sportsline with George Von Benko on WMBS Radio. “That’s obviously gonna be the case in terms of making sure we get hats on [Rhamondre] Stevenson and [TreVeyon] Henderson and stopping those guys. It all starts with that. All their offense, everything comes off of if they’re successful being able to run the ball, that play action, and it starts opening that stuff up. So if you can cut that out.”

Last season, Maye’s breakout season propelled the Patriots all the way to the Super Bowl. Maye led the NFL in completion percentage without sacrificing his aggressive, downfield approach. The Patriots’ run game was a major boost for Maye, though. As a rookie, Henderson led the backfield in attempts and posted over 1,000 yards from scrimmage. Stevenson rushed for 4.6 yards per carry in the veteran, pass-catching back role. In total, New England finished 6th in the NFL in total rushing.

Much of what makes Maye a threat is what he can do when on the move, both in and out of the pocket. Establishing the run and then playing off of it with play action was a cornerstone of what made the Patriots’ offense successful last season. If the Steelers are able to limit the running game, they can take away a key element of what makes the Patriots’ offense so difficult to defend.

In the season opener, a Super Bowl rematch against the Seattle Seahawks, Maye struggled through the air, throwing three interceptions, including one in the red zone to seal the win for Seattle in the dying moments of the game.

With Henderson sitting out the opener, New England rushed for a total of 109 yards, with Maye accounting for 47 of those. Stevenson played the lead back role and only mustered 2.9 yards per carry.

With Henderson returning for Sunday’s game, the Steelers can expect the New England ground attack to be a bigger threat. While the Steelers’ defense largely limited the Atlanta Falcons’ offense in their Week 1 victory, Bijan Robinson and company rushed for 120 yards despite everyone in the stadium understanding the one dimensional nature of their offense with Cooper Rush at quarterback.

The Steelers will have their hands full with Henderson and Stevenson, but limiting New England’s ground game could go a long way toward containing Maye and the Patriots’ offense. If Pittsburgh can force New England into obvious passing situations, they will have a better chance of keeping Maye from dictating the game with his arm and legs.