Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Browns, the Patriots flew to Heinz Field to face the Steelers. After forcing the Steelers to punt on the opening drive, the Patriots marched 70 yards in just 8 plays, scoring on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Gronkowski. After the Steelers punted, the Patriots drove to the 12, but the Steelers #1 ranked defense tightened down, and forced the Patriots to a 30-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, increasing their lead to 10-0. Two possessions later, The Steelers drove to the Patriots 4, but settled for a 22-yard field goal by Jeff Reed, making the score 10-3. Both teams punted for the rest of the half and the Patriot led 10-3 at halftime. The Patriots opened up a scoring barrage in the 2nd half. On the opening possession of the 3rd quarter, the Patriots marched 78 yards in a perfectly balanced 10 play (5 passes, 5 rushes) drive, scoring on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Gronkowski, increasing their lead to 17-3. After both teams punted, the Steelers drove 59 (aided by a 38-yard pass interference call on Brandon Meriweather)yards to the Patriots 8-yard line, but Reed missed a 26-yard field goal. The Patriots took advantage, marching 80 yards in 7 plays, scoring on Brady's 3-yard touchdown run, with a missed extra point, increasing the Patriots lead to 23-3. The Steelers countered on their next drive, racing 71 yards in 7 plays, scoring on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Emmanuel Sanders, trimming the deficit to 23-10. After the Patriots punted, Roethlisberger was intercepted by James Sanders who returned the interception 32 yards for a touchdown, increasing the lead to 29-10 after the missed two point conversion. Sanders returned the ensuing kick 26 yards to the Patriots 47 and the Steelers raced 53 yards in just 5 plays, scoring on a 15-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace, with a successful two-point conversion, trimming the deficit to 29-18. After recovering the onside kick, the Patriots put the game away, marching effortlessly, 41 yards in only 5 plays, scoring on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, his third touchdown reception of the game, giving the Patriots an insurmountable 36-18 lead with 4:23 remaining. Ben Roethlisberger completed four passes, all to Mike Wallace on the next drive, including a 33-yard touchdown pass, with another successful 2 point conversion, trimming the deficit to 36-26, but the Patriots' Alge Crumpler recovered the onside kick. Graham added the final points of the game with a 36-yard field goal, bringing the score to 39-26. Pittsburgh drove to New England's 15 with a few seconds left, but couldn't score. Tom Brady finished 30/43 for 350 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions against the top-ranked defense in the NFL. Rob Gronkowski caught all three TDs en route to a 5 catch, 72 yard night. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 387 yards in defeat. With the win, New England improve to 7-2.. How many points were scored in the 1st half?