Whenever you start a postmortem comparing a Patriots game to the “Lawyer Milloy” 31-0 episode on Sept 7, 2003, you know the final result is probably pretty ugly. You’d be right.

That was the last time the Patriots gave up 30 unanswered points like they did in the loss on Sunday.

Two key dropped passes by your best receiver, including a sure touchdown, two strip sacks, two interceptions and a muffed kickoff leading to a turnover. Add them up and you get a 33-10 debacle against a Pittsburgh team that played like it had a point to prove. From the trash talking and personal fouls early, the Steelers were a motivated bunch. All that was missing on Pittsburgh’s holiday shopping spree at Gillette was a partridge in a pear tree.

And as he usually does, Patriots coach Bill Belichick summed it up pretty succinctly when he said of New England’s five turnovers, “We had a lot of opportunities out there today. We weren’t able to take care of some of the ones we had. Pittsburgh took advantage of those. That was really the difference in the game, the turnovers. It was a huge part of it.”

And he continued, “We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and taking advantage of opportunities.”

What else to say about Sunday’s game that was as ugly and dreary as the cold rain? Here are five thoughts.

1.  Matt Cassel was never comfortable. We said that coming in that the Patriots needed to protect their quarterback and give him time against the pressure defense of the Steelers. Matt Light had trouble with linebacker James Harrison all afternoon and it produced two strip sacks in the third quarter, helping Pittsburgh pull away.

2. Randy Moss and the drops. Simply put, it was probably Moss’ worst game following one of his best. Last week in Miami, three touchdowns and 125 yards receiving. Sunday, two drops, including a sure touchdown from Cassel that would have put the Pats up, 17-10 at halftime. Instead, Steve Gostkowski missed a 27-yard field goal and it was all downhill from there.

3. Matthew Slater has a rookie’s nightmare. The talented and fast specialist muffed a kickoff after Jeff Reed’s field goal gave the Steelers a 13-10 lead in the third quarter. The Steelers weren’t in the mood to give the kid a repreive. Ben Roethlisberger found Hines Ward from 11 yards for a TD and the Steelers were on their way.

4. Patriots couldn’t get to Roethelisberger. After Richard Seymour got to Big Ben early in the first quarter, forcing him to throw the ball into the hands of Mike Vrabel, the Steelers appeared to make the proper adjustments. No sacks the rest of the way.

5. Willie Parker and Melwede Moore. The tandem produced 154 yards on just 28 carries. They helped the Steelers grind out the clock with the Patriots clinging to dear life in the fourth quarter. “We try to pride ourselves on being a fundamentally-sound football team,” Pats linebacker Tedy Bruschi said. “When you have mistakes like we made out there, it is just not good football. The ball was on the ground, they were breaking runs like they did and they were able to convert on third down. Then all of a sudden you have a score that looks like it did on the scoreboard.”

Here’s how the participants described it afterward…

Bill Belichick said the turnovers were the obvious difference.

Matt Cassel isn’t worried about his image taking a hit on Sunday.

Randy Moss owned up to having a bad day.

Moss accepts responsibility.

Tedy Bruschi wasn’t surprised by the result given how the game unfolded.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was happy to get the win to set up the rivalry.

Ben Roethlisberger called it the worst elements he’s played in.

Hines Ward said his Steelers took advantage of Pats turnovers.

More thanks to the great folks in Patriots Media Relations.

FAULK MOVES INTO FOURTH ON PATRIOTS ALL-TIME RECEPTIONS LIST
On a 9-yard reception in the third quarter, Kevin Faulk moved past Irving Fryar into sole possession of fourth place on the Patriots’ all-time receptions list. The 9-yard catch was the 364th reception of Faulk’s 10-year career and moved him past Fryar’s total of 363 receptions for the Patriots from 1984-1992. Faulk, who finished the game with 366 career catches, now trails only Troy Brown (557), Stanley Morgan (534) and Ben Coates (490) on the Patriots’ all-time receptions list. Faulk has had at least one reception in each game this season and has caught a pass in 42 straight regular-season games in which he has appeared.

FAULK HAS SECOND STRAIGHT 100-YARD GAME FROM SCRIMMAGE
Kevin Faulk totaled 121 yards from scrimmage, leading the team with 73 rushing yards and also pacing the club with 48 receiving yards on a team-best seven receptions. Today’s game marked the second straight contest in which Faulk has exceeded 100 yards from scrimmage (he had 105 scrimmage yards last week at Miami). Through 12 games this season, Faulk has totaled 808 yards from scrimmage (445 rushing and 363 receiving), a total that ranks second on the team to Wes Welker’s 894 scrimmage yards (26 rushing and 868 receiving). Since 2000, Faulk leads the Patriots in total scrimmage yards and is one of just six NFL players to have totaled more than 2,000 rushing yards and 3,000 receiving yards this decade (2000-08). The others to achieve the feat are Tiki Barber, Marshall Faulk, LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook and Michael Pittman.

FAULK GOES LONG
Kevin Faulk had a 41-yard run in the second quarter, recording the third longest rush of his 10-year career and his longest since breaking a career-long 45-yard touchdown run on Nov. 3, 2002. The rush was the longest of the year against the Steelers, topping the previous best of 22 yards by Washington’s Clinton Portis on Nov. 3. Faulk’s 41-yard run was his third rush of 20 yards or longer in the last three games after having just three rushes of 20 yards or more in his previous five seasons (2003-07). Faulk entered the game as the Patriots’ leading rusher with 372 rushing yards, totaling his highest single-season total since compiling a career-best 638 rushing yards in 2003.

FAULK MOVES INTO TOP 25 ON PATRIOTS GAMES PLAYED LIST

Kevin Faulk is playing in his 134th game as a Patriot this afternoon, moving him into the top 25 on the Patriots’ all-time games played list. Faulk’s total of 134 games tie defensive back Don Webb (1961-71) for 25th place. Faulk is in his 10th season with the Patriots since being selected in the second round (46th overall) of the 1999 NFL Draft out of Louisiana State.

VRABEL INTERCEPTION LEADS TO EARLY TOUCHDOWN
Mike Vrabel leapt into the air and intercepted a Ben Roethlisberger pass near the line of scrimmage in the first quarter, recording his 11th career interception and his first since Dec. 3, 2006. Vrabel returned the interception five yards to the Steelers’ 14-yard line and set up a 3-play, 14-yard drive that ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by Sammy Morris and a 7-0 Patriots lead 2:59 into the game. New England scored off of an opponents turnover for the fourth straight week. Vrabel was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 1997 NFL Draft and played four seasons for Pittsburgh (1997-2000) before joining the Patriots prior to the 2001 season.

MORRIS SCORES
Sammy Morris plunged into the end zone from two yards out to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead with 2:59 elapsed in the game. The touchdown was Morris’s fifth rushing score of the season and was the 22nd rushing touchdown of his career. The touchdown was Morris’s first since Oct. 20.

QUICK HITS
•       Randy Moss hauled in a 27-yard pass from Matt Cassel in the first quarter. Heading into the game, the Steelers had allowed the NFL’s lowest number of plays of 20 yards or more (16), holding a solid lead over the next best team (Washington, 26).
•       Jerod Mayo stopped Willie Parker in the backfield for a 2-yard loss in the first quarter, forcing the Steelers into a second-and-long situation that resulted in Mike Vrabel’s interception.
•       Vince Wilfork and Le Kevin Smith combined to stop Pittsburgh’s Gary Russell for no gain on third-and-one from the Patriots’ 2-yard line in the first quarter, keeping the Steelers out of the end zone and forcing a 20-yard field goal on the next play that preserved the Patriots’ lead, 7-3.
•       Tedy Bruschi provided pressure on Ben Roethlisberger on third-and-three in the second quarter, helping to force an incompletion on the play and a Steelers punt on the following play.
•       Ellis Hobbs and Richard Seymour combined to sack Ben Roethlisberger for a 7-yard loss on first down in the second quarter. The sack raised Seymour’s 2008 sack total to 7.5, and gave him a total of 6.5 sacks in the last 7 games.

SCORING FIRST STREAK SNAPPED
The Patriots scored first today to take a 7-0 lead, but fell to the Steelers 33-10. Today’s result broke a streak of 23 straight regular season victories when scoring first. Prior to today, the last time the Patriots lost a game in which they scored first was on November 12, 2006 against the New York Jets.

WELKER’S STREAK OF GAMES WITH 6+ CATCHES SNAPPED
Wes Welker finished the afternoon with four receptions, snapping his streak of 15 straight games (including playoffs) in which he had six or more catches. Prior to today, the last time Welker did not have at least six catches was on Dec. 23, 2007 against Miami, when he finished with five receptions. Welker had totaled at least six receptions in each of this season’s first 11 games, setting an NFL record for most consecutive games with six or more receptions to begin a season (topping the previous record of eight, set by Jacksonville’s Jimmy Smith in 2001).

SWAT TEAM
•       Ellis Hobbs broke up a Ben Roethlisberger pass intended for Santonio Holmes on third down in the second quarter, forcing a Pittsburgh punt on the next play.
•       Deltha O’Neal broke up a deep Roethlisberger pass in the second quarter intended for Nate Washington.
•       Mike Vrabel tipped away a Roethlisberger pass intended for Holmes on a first down in the first quarter.