New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots can reverse a recent shortcoming when hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
New England dominated at home with Tom Brady at the helm, but they haven’t succeeded at Gillette Stadium lately. The Patriots are an NFL-worst 3-15 at home since the start of the 2023 season.
Patriots players are well aware of that face. Running back Antonio Gibson is eager to change that trend, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
“Super important,” Gibson said. “Fans come out and spend their hard-earned money to come to see us play. To get a win and give them something to cheer, we have to do that for them.”
New England earned two home victories last season, but Drake Maye still hasn’t finished a triumph at Gillette Stadium. Jacoby Brissett led the Pats to a 25-22 win over the New York Jets in Week 8, and Joe Milton III defeated a Buffalo Bills team resting starters in Week 18.
Maye nevertheless played better with home cooking as a rookie, averaging 9.2 yards per pass at Foxborough and 6.8 yards per attempt on the road. Yet the Patriots offense began the 2025 campaign with a sloppy home loss against the Las Vegas Raiders before finding its stride in South Beach to beat the Miami Dolphins.
The schedule gives the Patriots a golden opportunity to record a winning home record for the first season since 2020. The Steelers and Bills are their only home opponents who made the playoffs last year.
New England will also host the Panthers in Week 4 before embarking on a three-game road stand, so there’s extra pressure to improve at home in September. Sunday’s game against the Steelers starts at 1 p.m. ET.
