It was a dominant performance for the New England Patriots defense against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In it, they ended up scoring more points on their own than they allowed on their way to New England’s first win this season.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had a particularly tough day. With a pair of turnovers, he was sacked four times. Worse, he looked like he’d lost a step.
One Patriots player who took notice of that was defensive tackle Cory Durden. This was after Durden had a strong game, with two tackles. He also blew up several players from his defensive tackle position, opening up others to make the plays that get added to the stat sheet. He was clearly feeling good about the win after the game, and he took to social media where he took some shots at the Steelers.
New England Patriots DT Cory Durden Took Shots at the Pittsburgh Steelers, Aaron Rodgers
It’s relatively easy to talk following a game that you won. So, that’s exactly what Patriots defensive tackle Cory Durden did on Monday, taking to social media to do so. In particular, he would target Aaron Rodgers, who had an abysmal day.
“Enjoy retirement my dog,” Durden wrote on Twitter/X along with a crying laughing emoji. He has since deleted the post.
Rodgers, of course, previously said he’d retire following the 2026 season. That was after plenty of debate whether or not he’d play at all this season.
Durden wasn’t done there, though. He would also target Steelers center, Zach Frazier.
“Zach Frazier just ain’t good,” Durden wrote. Again, he’d delete the post.
Whether Durden decided to delete the posts on his own or if someone got in his ear to delete them isn’t clear. Regardless, it’s clear that Durden was more than happy to talk after the Patriots left with a win.
Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Took a Shot at the Steelers Offense
Whether on purpose or not, Cory Durden wasn’t the only one to take a shot at the Steelers. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel took his own shot at Pittsburgh, too.
On Monday, Vrabel made his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show. There, he tried to caution that there was still plenty of work to do on the defensive side of the ball. However, he got very honest in how he presented it.
“I don’t think this was one of the best offenses we’ll face this year, so try to keep things in perspective and go from there,” Vrabel admitted.
This was, unsurprisingly, taken as a kind of taunt at the Steelers. It likely wasn’t meant that way, but it’s hard to ignore that Vrabel did essentially call them a bad offense. That’s something you don’t hear a coach say every day.
Next week, the Patriots will get a much tougher test for their defense. They’ll travel south to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. They offer up one of the more exciting young offenses in the AFC. Add in the hot and humid weather, and the Patriots can count this as a major test early in the season.
Patriots Cory Durden Taunts Steelers, Aaron Rodgers Following Week 2 Win