Game 3 of the Mike Vrabel coaching era with the New England Patriots resulted in a 21-14 setback to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers. The story of this game came down to five turnovers by the home team, including twice in the Steelers’ end zone on back-to-back drives.

“Turnovers are tough to overcome. They erase all the good things that you do. They take away momentum. They take away points, give them field position. It was very unfortunate,” said Vrabel following the loss. He went on to say, “Ball security comes down to technique. It comes down to other people protecting the guy with the ball. Those are all things that we continue to talk about and will continue to talk about. Decision-making is another key factor.

Decision-making when you have the football in your hand, whether that’s the quarterback, whether that’s a player that’s reaching it, and it gets knocked out. We’ll watch the tape, and we’ll clearly address ball security.”

The Patriots five-turn-over episode literally handed the game to the Steelers. The Pats offense marched the Steelers up and down the field, outgaining them by a 369-203 margin (in yardage), had more first downs (26-17), as well as controlling “time of possession” — all numbers that should produce victory. But those five killer turnovers make the odds of winning minuscule.

*Consider the fact that over the last 10 years, NFL teams are now 5-72 when they turn the ball over five-plus times, a 6.5%-win percentage. The other “big-picture factor” in this scenario is the Patriots woeful three-win, 16-loss record at Gillette Stadium since 2023 — the worst home record in the NFL.

Even with the five turnovers, the fifth of which led to the winning touchdown for the Steelers, the Patriots still had a chance to tie the game with a late fourth-quarter possession that ended at the Pittsburgh 28-yard line. The Patriots were 4-4 on fourth-down attempts. Still, they failed on their fifth (and final) try as the Steelers blitzed (one of 22 blitzes by their defense), forcing Pats quarterback Drake Maye to throw quickly to wide receiver DeMario Douglas, who appeared to have just enough space to pick up first down yardage by just falling forward. Douglas went backward trying to juke linebacker Patrick Queen and wound up being tackled short of first-down yardage, ballgame to the Steelers.

The wide receiver talked about the failed play: “Probably knife, go straight up,” Douglas said postgame when asked if he would have done anything differently. “I thought [a defender was] right behind me, that’s what made me move.”

“Probably have to just drop step and be able to knife. Know those are going to be bang-bang plays and try to split them and get the first down,” Vrabel said. “It’s hard to circle around some defenders. I didn’t have the best view of it. I would say that the decision that Pop made wasn’t the right one there just because we didn’t get it. Got to try to either drop step or make them miss.”

In other NFL Action: The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles got a blocked field goal and a 70+yard return from Jordan Davis to beat the Los Angeles Rams 33-26 in LA. The Cleveland Browns blocked a late field goal attempt by the Green Bay Packers, then stunned them with a 55-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt as regulation time expired to give the home team Browns (1-2) their first win of the season and the Packers their first loss. Colts running back Jonathon Taylor scored three touchdowns and rushed for 102 yards to lead his team to a 41-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans. It is the first 3-0 start for the Colts since 2009. Minnesota defensive back Isaiah Rodgers returned an interception 87 yards for one touchdown and returned a fumble 66 yards for another as the Vikings blasted the visiting Cincinnati Bengals 48-10. *From the NFL statistics department — nine defensive and special teams touchdowns scored this week; the most in five years — and a National Football League record of multiple blocked field goals returned for touchdowns in the fourth quarter, both with under two minutes left to play in regulation time.

And while the Pats’ record dropped to 1-2, there were bigname NFL players who suffered significant injuries. San Francisco 49ers five-time All-Pro defensive lineman Nick Bosa will be lost for the season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), ending his season. The same is true for Los Angeles Chargers running back Najee Harris, who will miss the rest of this season after tearing his Achilles tendon. Wide receivers Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (hamstring) and Cee Dee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys (high ankle sprain) will miss weeks of action due to injury.

And a sad note to conclude: The passing of former Patriots Vice President of Player Personnel Bobby Grier. He served the Patriots organization for nearly 20 years in coaching and executive roles. He played a vital role in building the Patriots’ six Super Championship teams. A firstclass gentleman in every sense of the word, he will be missed by all who came in contact with him. “Bobby was the strong, silent type — a leader who could always get the best of you. I had the good fortune of watching him as a coach and later as a personnel guy,” said former Patriots linebacker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett, who also worked under Grier as a scout. “He inspired people to think bigger and do bigger things.”

The executive’s final draft pick was quarterback Tom Brady. His son, Mike, spoke about that, saying, “He’ll never let me or anyone else know about it or talk about it, but just being around him and talking with my brother, I know that he’s pretty proud of that draft class and Tom in particular.”

Heartfelt condolences go out to the Grier family. Grier’s son Chris currently works as the general manager of the NFL’s Dolphins; his son Mike is the GM of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. Rest in Peace, Mr. Bobby Grier.