Tight end Hunter Henry celebrated his birthday with two touchdowns as the New England Patriots snapped their five-game NFL losing streak with a 21-18 upset of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Henry hauled in two touchdown passes from quarterback Bailey Zappe in the second quarter as the Patriots raced into what turned out to be a decisive 21-3 lead at a frigid Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers threatened to reel in the New England lead after moving to within three points early in the fourth quarter, but the rally ran out of steam as New England hung on for only their third win of a disappointing season.
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“We started fast, put some points on the board and played from ahead, which is what we’ve been wanting to do,” Henry, 29, said after the victory.
“We were desperate to score some touchdowns and I was able to come up big tonight. I couldn’t have done it without the other guys though.”
The Patriots improved to 3-10 for the season – two wins ahead of Chicago (via Carolina) in the race for the No.1 pick – but remain firmly rooted to the foot of the AFC East behind Miami, Buffalo and the New York Jets.
Thursday’s victory provided some sweet relief for Henry and his teammates however.
“It feels good,” Henry said. “It’s been a long year, it’s been a grind. But winning always feels good, and is always fun.
“This is a good taste for us and we’ve got to keep pushing.”
New England quarterback Zappe finished with three touchdowns and one interception with 240 passing yards, while opposite number Mitch Trubisky rushed for one touchdown and threw for another.
The loss was a bitter blow to Pittsburgh’s hopes of forcing their way into playoff contention, and came just four days after they lost at home to the Arizona Cardinals, another struggling team.
The back-to-back losses mean that instead of a 9-4 record, the Steelers are 7-6 in the AFC North.
“It’s disappointing,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “We fought in the second half but came up short….this stings but we’ll be back.”
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