Four plays into the Steelers opening drive, Ben Roethlisberger was strip-sacked by Ninkovich with Joe Vellano recovering at the Patriots 42. However, the Patriots were forced to a three-and-out. Two possessions later, The Patriots marched all the way to the Steelers 1, but Ridley was tackled for no gain on 4th-and-Goal. After a false start penalty on Marcus Gilbert, Roethlisberger was intercepted at the Steelers 34 by McCourty. On the first play, Brady hit Amendola for a touchdown, giving the Patriots a 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh responded by driving to the Patriots 32, but on 4th-and-1 Le'Veon Bell was tackled for a 1-yard loss. The Patriots made Pittsburgh pay, racing 63 yards in 6 plays, scoring on Brady's 19-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, increasing the lead to 14-0. With the catch, Gronk already reached 100 yards, making this his 11th career 100 yard receiving game, extending his record for Patriots' tight ends. The Steelers drove to the Patriots 12, but settled for a 30-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham, trimming the deficit to 14-3. The Patriots answered with a field goal, as well. Driving all the way to the Steelers 3, but settled for Gostkowski's 21-yard field goal, making the score 17-3. The Steelers put a dent in the Patriots lead on their next drive, racing 71 yards in less than two minutes, scoring on Ben's 27-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown, making the score 17-10. The Patriots countered, though, racing 77 yards in under two minutes, too, scoring on Ridley's 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Patriots a 24-10 lead at halftime. On the fifth play of the first drive of the second half, Ridley was stripped by Troy Polamalu with LaMarr Woodley recovering at the Patriots 36. Five plays later, Ben hit Jerricho Cotchery for a 20-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 24-17. After a Patriots three-and-out, aided by a 24-yard return by Brown to the Patriots 46, the Steelers raced 46 yards in 5 plays, scoring on Ben's 8-yard touchdown pass to Cotchery, tying the game 24-24. The Patriots drove to the Steelers 5 on their next drive, but on 3rd-and-3, Brady was sacked for a 9-yard loss by Jason Worilds, and Gostkowski kicked a 32-yard field goal, giving the Patriots a 27-24 lead. After a Steelers punt, the Patriots started to take over. Edelman returned the punt 43 yards to the Steelers 34. The Patriots proceeded to race 34 yards in 1:38, scoring on Brady's 17-yard touchdown pass to Dobson, increasing the lead to 34-24. After a Steelers punt, the Patriots drove 61 yards in 8 plays, scoring on Ridley's 5-yard touchdown run, widening the lead to 41-24. Earlier on the drive, Ridley ran for 7 yards, making this his 5th-career 100-yard rushing game. The Steelers countered on their next drive, storming 80 yards in 10 plays, scoring Cotchery's third touchdown reception, trimming the deficit to 41-31. However, the Patriots were unstoppable. On the second play of the drive, after a 12-yard run by Blount, Brady hit Dobson for an 81-yard touchdown bomb, widening the lead to 48-31 late in the fourth quarter. This was Brady's 3rd career 400-yard game, moving him to 7th on the all-time passing list with 47,062 career passing yards, passing Fran Tarkenton. This was his 37th career game with 3 touchdown passes. This was Dobson's 1st career 100-yard receiving game. The Steelers reached their own 48 on their next drive, but Harmon intercepted Ben at the Patriots 30 and returned it 42 yards to the Steelers 28. The drive lasted only two plays: a Blount 23-yard run and a Blount 5-yard run for a touchdown, putting the game away 55-31. The Steelers drove to the Patriots 39, but turned the ball over on downs. Brady took a knee to end the game. New England posted its biggest single-game offensive output of the season to date, and the third highest in team history (630 yards) as the Patriots offense finally clicked in what amounted to a blowout win over the struggling Steelers. Brady threw for 432 yards and four touchdowns, while Aaron Dobson, Danny Amendola and Rob Gronkowski combined for 395 yards and four touchdowns. Ridley also had over 100 yds rushing and two touchdowns despite a third-quarter fumble. Ben Roethlisberger, who threw for 400 yds and 4 TDs as well, but threw 2 interceptions. The 55 points was the most scored against the Steelers in team history.. who lead in the first quarter?