Antwaan Randle El is a receiver who tried to turn giver, and it may have cost the Steelers a victory yesterday.

Randle El caught a short pass from Ben Roethlisberger with the Steelers ahead 10-7 in the second quarter and weaved through the Patriots' defense for 49 yards to the 15. Hemmed in there, he turned and saw Hines Ward bearing down.

They actually practice what came next, but it usually works then. The two made eye contact, and Randle El flipped the ball to Ward, who could not handle it. New England safety Eugene Wilson recovered at the 11.

"I can't fault 'Twaan for that," Ward said. "He was trying to make a play. I thought he was going to get out of it and I was going to block, and he ended up pitching to me and I took my eyes off the ball and I wasn't really ready for it. I'm partly to blame. If I catch the ball, we don't turn the ball over and if we don't, we at least get a field goal out of it."

Coach Bill Cowher also forgave Randle El.

"Against this caliber of a football team you cannot ruin opportunities like that. He understands that. It's just one of those things that just happen. He was trying to make a play. I just told him to let it go, learn from it and let's move on. Don't dwell on it."

No thanks

There were strange plays at Heinz Field yesterday, but nothing as out of the ordinary as Patriots coach Bill Belichick chasing Steelers trainer John Norwig away from one of his injured players.

As tackle Matt Light lay on the turf with a serious leg injury in the second quarter, Norwig ran over to see if he could help, as opposing trainers often will do with serious injuries.

Belichick walked out on the field and told Norwig, in no uncertain terms, to get away from his player. Norwig walked off the field and could be seen laughing about it with several Steelers doctors on the sideline.

Cowher said he was not aware of what happened.

Nick Kaczur, a third-round pick from Toledo, replaced Light in the second quarter. That gave the Patriots two rookies on their left side of the line, with guard Logan Mankins.

The Steelers said they did not adjust their strategy to go after the two young players.

"You can't really attack somebody just because they're a young guy," linebacker James Farrior said. "You just have to play our game, and we didn't do enough today."

Too cool

Steelers linebacker Larry Foote is more familiar than most Steelers with New England quarterback Tom Brady, who completed 31 of 41 passes for 372 yards.

"I played with him in college [Michigan] and he was always cool," Foote said. "That's the key for a quarterback in this league. If you're cool back there, you can make plays. He's not afraid to get hit. He just steps up in the pocket and delivers the ball down the field."

The book on offense

The Patriots were able to do what few teams before them have done -- confuse the Steelers offensive line.

"We weren't on the same page all the time," Steelers tackle Marvel Smith said. "That's where some of their pressure came from. Overall, the offensive line didn't play well today. We need to execute and sustain for 60 minutes, not just put together a good drive at the end of the game."

Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca credited the Patriots defensive schemes with making a difference.

"They were giving us a lot of different looks today," Faneca said. "And for some reason, we just didn't get a lot of push against them. We're going to have to go back, look at film, and figure out how to get better."

Some Hope

The Patriots rolled up 425 yards on the vaunted Steelers defense, butsafety Chris Hope, who had an interception yesterday, said the Patriots don't do it with a lot of fancy plays and schemes.

"They just take what you give them," Hope said. "If we're trying to be the No. 1 defense, we've got to stop a team like that. We had to come up with a stop late and we didn't."

Short snaps

Hines Ward's 85-yard touchdown catch to end the Steelers' first drive was the longest in Heinz Field's five-season history, the longest in Ward's career and the ninth-longest in Steelers history. It was their longest since Kordell Stewart connected with Bobby Shaw for 90 yards Dec. 16, 2001 in Baltimore. Ward has four touchdown receptions after catching two more yesterday, tying his entire output from last season.

Steelers safety Chris Hope threw a bouquet at Bill Belichick and the New England coaching staff. "I definitely think they adjusted to some of our pressures at halftime. That's what good teams do that are well coached."

Bill Cowher had intended to get some carries for running back Duce Staley, who was active for the first time this season, but the opportunity never arose. "I was hopeful that we could get a lead and give him some snaps in the second half. But it didn't materialize that way."

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has not thrown an interception in three games. What would have been his first was overturned on Cowher's replay challenge when it was determined the ball bounced off the ground before it wound up in safety Eugene Wilson's hands.

The crowd of 64,868 was the fourth-largest in Steelers history.

The Steelers' defense had three more takeaways yesterday, giving it eight in the first three games. With the offense committing its first turnover, the Steelers are already a plus seven in turnover ratio. They were plus 11 for all last year.

For the second consecutive week, a Steelers opponent converted at least 50 percent of its third-down plays. The Patriots went 8-for-16 on third down yesterday and the Houston Texans were 8-for-15 last week.