Patriots Ups & Downs: Who stood out in a home loss to the Steelers?

The Patriots under Mike Vrabel want to "take advantage of bad football," but they were the ones that played too much bad football on Sunday against the Steelers. The repeated mistakes added up to a 21-14 home loss that dropped the Pats to 1-2 on the season.

Here's who we graded UP or DOWN based on their performance on the field in the Patriots' latest defeat...

Stevenson followed up one of the best games of his career with one of his worst. He fumbled twice, and both were in back-breaking fashion, on the opening drive and at the goal line. That's all there is to it. If Stevenson can't get over his fumbling issues, he should see less of the field.

A mixed bag for Maye, much like the season opener. But what ultimately landed Maye in the DOWN category were his two turnovers, which like Stevenson's were particularly costly.

First, Maye threw an interception in the end zone with just 12 seconds to go in the first half. The Steelers' Cameron Heyward got a hand on the ball, causing it to flutter toward cornerback Brandin Echols for the pick. But Maye admitted after the game that he could've created a "different ball flight" for the receiver. He had the right read, as Kayshon Boutte was open for a potential touchdown, but his execution wasn't crisp.

The second turnover was much worse. Maye tried to escape the pocket up the middle and instead coughed up the ball after linebacker Nick Herbig jarred it loose. The fumble gave the ball back to Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who marched them down the field for a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

It wasn't all bad, as Maye completed 28 of 37 passes for 268 yards and two touchdowns to go with the pick (a 102.1 passer rating). He's not as high on the list of concerns for the Patriots as he was after the season opener, but he'll need to protect the ball better in order to win close games at this level.

Douglas' biggest mistake was technically a turnover, but it was more of the decision-making variety. Douglas caught Maye's final fourth-down pass right before the line of scrimmage, and potentially could've burrowed forward for one more yard to move the chains. Instead, he jumped backward to avoid a potential tackle, and eventually was brought down by his shoestrings for the turnover on downs.

The sometimes-elusive receiver also had a bad drop on a wide-open pass, when he had a ton of open field in front of him. He ultimately caught only 2 of 5 targets for seven yards, continuing what's been a concerningly quiet start to the season for him.

After a slow first two games in a Patriots uniform, Spillane looked more like the guy the Pats thought they were getting when they signed him in the off-season. Spillane racked up a game-high 15 total tackles, including one for a loss of yards, and also logged an interception that he ran back 37 yards for a near-pick six. He did miss a tackle during the Steelers' late go-ahead drive, but that wasn't enough to mar what was a mostly excellent day for the Patriots' top linebacker.

Williams continues to wreak havoc up front, as he's now 3-for-3 for impactful games along the Patriots defensive line. The stat line looks modest (2 tackles, 1 tackle for loss), but Williams had a strip-sack negated by a penalty, and also drew double-teams that opened space for Christian Barmore and others. The Patriots' prized free-agent signing has been a beast to start the season.

Austin set a bad tone for the defense when he got flagged for pass interference in the end zone on third-and-goal, gifting the Steelers first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. He also committed a holding penalty that negated the aforementioned Williams strip-sack. The Patriots' turnovers had a way of undoing good things, and Austin's miscues were at the center of that problem. A second straight bad game, and a desperate call to get Christian Gonzalez back in the lineup.

Henry caught 8 of 11 targets for 90 yards and two touchdowns, in one of his more productive efforts as a Patriot. He's climbing up the all-time leaderboard in Pats statistical categories for a tight end, passing Marv Cook for third in career receptions (211) during the game. He should continue to be a reliable target for Maye, especially down the seams and in the red zone.

Pro Football Focus credited Elliss with a missed tackle, which appeared to come on the Steelers' opening touchdown drive in the first quarter. Elliss' gap containment and tackling have been shaky at best overall this season, and in this game it eventually got him benched in favor of Jack Gibbens.

The next set of Patriots Ups & Downs comes after Week 4, when the Pats look to get back in the win column against the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.