New England Patriots: Winners and Losers from Loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers

The New England Patriots proved that they have several problems with just about every aspect of their team during a Week 8 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

In what might be a playoff preview, the Steelers outplayed the Pats, making it hard to believe New England can compete for a Super Bowl with some of the best teams in their own conference.

Here are all the winners and losers from this Week 8 matchup of the AFC's elite.

Winner/Loser: Tom Brady

It's tough to say Tom Brady is a total loser in the Patriots' loss to the Steelers; he did have a pretty good game statistically. He didn't exactly have a lot of time to make more of a contribution, either.

Brady completed 24 for 35 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't throw a single interception.

However, it wasn't enough for New England to win the game.

Brady did miss a few throws noticeably on big downs. He also had a fumble at the end of the game at the hands of Brett Keisel. The loose ball was knocked into the end zone for a safety, effectively ending the game.

Brady didn't escape pain either, getting sacked three times. Two were the results of visits from LaMarr Woodley.

Winner: Ben Roethlisberger

From the second he started connecting with Heath Miller in the first quarter, it was clear Ben Roethlisberger brought his best stuff with him to Heinz Field in the Steelers' win over the Patriots.

Big Ben completed 36 of 50 passes for 365 yards and two touchdowns, looking dominant for most of the game against the sick-looking Pats secondary.

His only hiccup was a single interception.

Although they weren't long passes, Big Ben's success through the air kept the Pats defense on the field for long stretches. Most importantly, Roethlisberger helped keep Tom Brady off the field.

Loser: Patriots Running Game

Even though Kevin Faulk showed his normal, hard-nosed self against the Steelers, he was a part of a New England running game that gained only 43 total yards.

It's understandable the Pats would gain so little when they're depending on Kevin Faulk, who is no longer a No. 1 back in this league. BenJarvus Green-Ellis was a non-factor, only managing five attempts for nine yards, which did not help the older Faulk very much.

It made it difficult for Tom Brady having the Pats offense be one-dimensional. It's tough to win when you're as predictable as the Patriots were. And their bad running game led to that.

Loser: Patriots Defense

The Patriots defense allowed 427 yards of total offense.

It was completely beaten down by Ben Roethlisberger and a merciless short passing attack. Big Ben picked apart the Pats secondary, throwing for 365 yards and two touchdowns.

Pittsburgh's offense was so good that it made its drives long by throwing short passes, keeping New England's defense on the field for long stretches and no doubt tiring them out.

The ineptitude of the Patriots defense led to long drives and kept their best chances of winning this game on the sideline.

If their defense doesn't improve drastically, there's no way the Pats can expect to win a Super Bowl this year.

Winner: Heath Miller

The Steelers' big day through the air started with Heath Miller catching passes at will on the very first drive of the game.

Miller burst onto the scene against the Patriots, helping Ben Roethlisberger get off to the best start in a game he's had this season. Miller caught four passes in the long scoring drive of the game.

He made it look like the New England's defense was moving in slow motion.

Miller finished the game with a season-high seven catches for 85 yards.

Winner: LaMarr Woodley

If it looks like Tom Brady got the crap knocked out of him, you're seeing that picture right.

Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley got to Brady two times in the Steelers' 25-17 win over the Patriots.

If there's one way to stop the Patriots, it's to stop their passing game. Woodley certainly helped that cause this week for the Steelers, making it a tough and painful day for Brady.

Winner: Patriots Red Zone Offense

Although it wasn't much, the Patriots were good in the red zone. Their success getting there can certainly be debated.

When the Patriots got there, they had a 100 percent success rate in the red zone.

Sadly, they only had two chances. The outcome of the game clearly would have been different had they gotten more chances.

Kudos to the Steelers defense for preventing Brady and the Pats from getting there. It won them the game.

Loser: Patriots Offensive Line

To say Tom Brady had a tough time behind his offensive line today is an understatement.

Brady was sacked three times, watching his offensive line make painful mistakes all day long.

On top of that, the Pats running game only mustered up 43 yards on the ground, making it impossible to keep Pittsburgh's defense honest.

Three sacks and a poor running game? I'd say some of the blame deserves to be placed on the O-line.

Winner: Rob Gronkowski

It hasn't been a bad two weeks for Rob Gronkowski.

Last week, Gronkowski seemingly scores with porn star Bibi Jones.

This week, he has a good game coming off a bye week.

Gronkowski finished with seven catches for 94 yards. It doesn't seem like a game worthy of being called a winner, but if not for a pass interference, Gronkowski surely would have hit the 100-yard mark and had a touchdown to his credit.

Loser: Stephen Gostkowski

Coming into this game, Stephen Gostkowski was 9 for 9 on field goal attempts in 2011. He picked a hell of a time to miss his first of the season.

It may not have seemed important at the time, but Gostkowski missed a 42-yard field goal in the third quarter that ultimately could have given the Pats a chance to tie the game with only a field goal and not a touchdown in the final seconds of the game.

It would have created a shorter field and much easier situation for Tom Brady.

It wasn't to be, as the normally reliable Gostkowski proved otherwise in this game.

Loser: Patriots Third-Down Efficiency

Normally, there are two reasons why you have as little possession time as the Pats had today:

1. Bad defense that allows long drives.

2. Bad third-down efficiency

No doubt New England's defense didn't show up today, but the offense didn't exactly help itself.

The Patriots had a 30 percent success rate on third downs, going 3 for 10 against the Steelers.

Tough to keep your offense on the field and score points when you keep going three and out.

Loser: Wes Welker

Coming into the Week 8 matchup with the Steelers, Patriots receiver Wes Welker was on pace to break the single-season record for receiving yards.

Clearly he's been having a great year in 2011 but watching this game, you wouldn't have known that.

Welker was a non-factor and got hit hard a few times during this game, catching six balls for 39 yards and not crossing the goal line once.

It was his worst game of the season and second bad game in a row. That torrid pace Welker was keeping up is now starting to slow down as the season moves forward.