Patriots’ JuJu Smith-Schuster makes big plays, gets win in his 1st game against Steelers

JuJu Smith-Schuster had plenty of reasons to smile late Thursday night. The least of which was when he referenced the color and style of the jerseys bearing his name in circulation in the public.

“I probably have more Steelers jerseys still than the Patriots,” Smith-Schuster said.

The formerly precocious Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver played his first game against the team that drafted him Thursday, and he had arguably his best game as a New England Patriot while doing it.

Smith-Schuster had a game-high 90 receiving yards — including the longest play of the game (37 yards) — in helping to lead the Patriots to a 21-18 upset of the Steelers.

“It was cool. It was awesome,” Smith-Schuster said of playing back in the stadium he called home for the first five seasons of his career. “Honestly, I have so much love for the (Steelers) fans.

“This is a great organization, Mr. Rooney, what he’s done with this team is awesome, so it was nice to be back for a little bit.”

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Smith-Schuster was among the Steelers’ most popular players from his rookie season as a 20-year-old, second-round pick in 2017 all the way through to his last game with the team, when he came off injured reserve to play in Ben Roethlisberger’s final game, a January 2022 playoff loss at the Kansas City Chiefs.

Smith-Schuster joined the Chiefs two months later, and he won a Super Bowl ring with them 10 months ago. He signed a three-year, $33 million contract with New England in March.

But he had just 25 catches for 170 yards in 10 games played this season. Smith-Schuster’s longest play of 2023 was a 20-yard catch until Bailey Zappe hit him for a 37-yard gain on the third play from scrimmage Thursday.

“That gives you confidence,” Zappe said, “when you see him go out and make a play, ‘OK, let’s do it again.’ ”

So Zappe and Smith-Schuster did. Later in the first quarter, they connected for a 17-yard reception, then a 28-yard gain that set up a second-quarter touchdown.

Smith-Schuster accounted for the two longest plays of the game by either team.

“He’s been doing that his whole career,” Zappe said. “So to just throw it up there to him, see him make that (37-yard) play, especially back where it all started for him, is awesome.”

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