The Pittsburgh Steelers began the 2019 season the way many thought they would. Defending champion New England embarrassed them, 33-3, in a nationally-televised game Sunday night at Gillette Stadium.

Ironically, it was Pittsburgh's one scoring drive when coach Mike Tomlin decided to wave the white flag.

Trailing 20-0 on the first drive of the second half, the Steelers drove 74 yards in 11 plays. Included was Pittsburgh's best offensive play of the night, a 45-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to James Washington.

Faced with a 4th-and-goal from New England's 1, Tomlin elected to send out Chris Boswell, who booted a 19-yard field goal that gave Pittsburgh a huge shot of momentum.

Not exactly.

The chances of the Steelers coming back from three scores down were very slim to begin with. Most fans, I'm sure, considered the game over at halftime. But in this instance, an NFL coach should not and cannot think like a fan.

Tomlin needed to make the decision that kept any hope alive of a comeback, no matter how slim it was. But instead of running another play in an attempt to score a touchdown, he took the three points just to avoid a shutout. Afterward, Pittsburgh still faced a three-score deficit.

It's not surprising the Steelers are 0-1, but I was hoping to at least be able to take a few positives away from the opener. There were none to be found.

Even without retired tight end Rob Gronkowski and several new pieces on the offensive line, Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady picked apart Pittsburgh's defense, throwing for 341 yards and three touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Steelers' offense was unable to sustain drives virtually the entire night.

It's another in a long line of examples of the Steelers feeling like and playing as the inferior team against the Patriots, at least at Gillette Stadium.

Prior to Sunday's game, Tomlin's teams had faced the Brady-led Patriots on the road four times and lost every one by scores of 36-17, 28-21, 55-31 and 34-13.

Other decisions later in Sunday's game made me scratch my head. Cornerback Joe Haden sprained his shoulder on a play with the Steelers trailing 30-3. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster appeared to sustain an injury — possibly to his hamstring — while being tackled with less than two minutes left.

Tomlin had already conceded defeat by kicking the field goal and yet he kept his starters in the game with time winding down.

Pointless.

Pittsburgh's first home game is Sunday when it faces Seattle and the Seahawks won't be an easy out. The Black and Gold could be staring at an 0-2 start with a cross-country trip to San Francisco the following week.

I guess the best thing that can be said about the Steelers right now is that they are tied for second-place in their division.

Trying to stay positive here, folks.

Derek Pyda is a staff writer for the Butler Eagle