Nelson Agholor had his best game as a member of the New England Patriots on Sunday.

The receiver caught six passes for 110 yards in New England's 17-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Agholor also made the play of the day for the Patriots, too.

In the waning moments of the first half, the Patriots looked like they were only going to get a field goal – at best – before the break. On third-and-3 with less than 30 seconds left in the half, Mac Jones called on Agholor's number. The veteran receiver was in single coverage with no safety help up top when he ran a go route down the right sideline. Jones threw deep to Agholor, but didn't lead him.

That wasn't a problem though. Agholor made the impressive play to make the catch over Steelers corner Ahkello Witherspoon, landing in bounds and ran into the end zone with the few yards that remained for the touchdown score. The play put the Patriots up 10-3 at the time and was certainly one of the tipping points of their win.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was impressed by the receiver's effort on the play.

“Nelson did a great job going up there and taking the ball,” Belichick said. “You know, just good job by Mac giving the receiver a chance to go get it. And Nelly came down with it. So, yeah, that was a huge play for us.”

Mac Jones didn't have great success so far on his deep throws this season. In Week 1, he threw an interception on the opening drive when he tried to hit DeVante Parker on a fade into the end zone. Jones threw another interception in the first quarter of Sunday's game when he tried to find Parker deep on a third-down play.

Throwing the deep ball has been one of the main knocks against Jones since he was a draft prospect in 2021. Despite a lot of people thinking that it might not have been the correct decision in the moment, Jones felt it was the right choice to make – in part because of the chemistry he's developed with Agholor.

“I think it was kind of one of those plays moving the ball and running our two-minute offense and I have good comfortability with that,” Jones said. “You know, when it's – we've worked on that play through the offseason and 50/50 balls. He's one of those guys that I put in the throw it up to him category and he's going to have made the play. So if it's one-on-one, I'll give him a shot.

“Obviously, had time with the offensive line and I think all our receivers can do that, if they're one-on-one, I'm going to give them a chance. Different philosophy, but that's what we need to do.”

Jones' offseason work was notable during training camp and the preseason. After Agholor had an underwhelming 37 receptions for 473 yards and three touchdowns a year ago, Jones noticeably targeted him on shorter passes in the leadup to the season. He also connected with Agholor for a 45-yard pass in the preseason game against the Panthers.

Belichick took notice of how Nelson Agholor has performed in the young season.

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“Yeah, he's been good all year,” Belichick said. “I mean, I don't think you want to judge guys on one play or one game. He got a lot of snaps and he's been, really, one of our most consistent players this year.”

Agholor said he could feel the momentum his touchdown catch on Sunday gave the Patriots. He also said he's noticed the continued momentum that his relationship with Jones had undergone as New England's in the young part of the regular season.

“I hope this game is a stepping stone toward where we’re harder,” Agholor said. “I don’t want this to be, ‘Hey, this is our identity.’ I want it to be, ‘OK, we see some good stuff, now let’s get better from here.’”

“I hope this week springboards us into more weeks to come,” Agholor added. “With Mac, he’s getting better every week, and me, as a player, I want to get better with him. I want to produce for him. I want to build the confidence that he feels like he can come to me if I’m five yards behind a guy or only one yard, whatever it is. You build that type of confidence by making those tough plays and having those also routine plays. … So, when you do it in a game with coverage out there, it’s important. So, I want us to take this game and build off of it.”

Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers was also a fan of Agholor performance on Sunday. Meyers, who had a team-high nine receptions on Sunday, said his favorite part of the win was Agholor crossing the century mark in receiving yards.

“That was crazy,” Meyers said of Agholor’s touchdown grab. “I knew he was athletic, so I just knew it was a matter of time before everybody else knew how athletic he really was. I expect it from him, you know what I mean? I know that he’s the kind of player that can make those plays consistently. So, I’m happy he’s putting it on film.”

The Patriots certainly hope that Nelson Agholor's performance can continue as the year goes on. The next challenge for them is the Baltimore Ravens, who gave up 170-plus receiving yards to both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle in their 42-38 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.