Randy Moss can't hold on to a Matt Cassel pass in the end zone in the second quarter.

Journal photo / Mary Murphy

FOXBORO – Randy Moss knows full well that he is a superstar, and that superstars live with certain expectations. Superstar receivers aren’t supposed to drop balls in the end zone, or let long bombs slip through their fingers in the middle of the field.

So when superstars do exactly that, and their team loses, superstars know that the burden falls disproportionately on them. Moss accepts that.

"I didn't really have a good game. I put a lot of blame on myself because I think this team really looks to me to do my job week in and week out," Moss said.

"I am very disappointed in my play. Bill [Belichick] says time and time again, do your job. I always say as a wide receiver, your job is to get open, catch the ball and score touchdowns. That first half, and the whole game, there is nothing to say. We dropped balls," Moss said.

Moss' two drops came in the first half, one at midfield at the end of the first quarter and one in the end zone just before halftime. After piling up 125 yards and three touchdowns last week against Miami, Moss finished with four catches for 45 yards against the Steelers.

Rain poured down the entire game, and the Steelers' receivers dropped their fair share of balls, too. But Moss said that the balls he dropped were catchable regardless.

"I don't want to blame it on the weather. The balls were there, they just weren't caught. This is something that will probably bother me until next Sunday."

It was a frustrating day for many on the Patriots: Reliable kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a 23 -yard field goal; tackle Matt Light was beaten for two strip-sacks of quarterback Matt Cassel. But the Patriots receivers and special teamers had an especially tough day with dropped balls.

Wideout Jabar Gaffney dropped a ball when wide open in the fourth quarter, and special teams player Matt Slater muffed a kickoff, leading to a Steelers touchdown.

"There's no excuse. You have to field the ball. Yeah, it's wet. Yeah, there's rain. But I have to do my job," Slater said. "I saw the ball. There's no excuse. I just feel like I let the team down."

"Both teams played in it, so you can never make an excuse for the weather. You just have to go play, whatever the conditions,” echoed Gaffney.

Making the tough catch is a point of pride for any receiver, and likewise, any drop is an embarrassment. Moss has been around long enough to know that professional sports are as much mental as physical, and he acknowledged that letting balls slip through his fingers is galling, and can affect him for the rest of a game.

"Once you drop one ball, and you drop another ball, I think it does start to affect you mentally. That is why they call us professionals – because we are supposed to let the bad go, and get back to playing football," Moss said.

After 11 stellar years in the league, Moss is more than the average professional. He is the star receiver who stands alone on the podium taking blame while wearing a sumptuous fur coat. And as a star, he can say what many athletes won't: especially for the very best, the mistakes hurt.

"Hopefully this is something that we can rebound from. But, it does hurt. It is a bad taste," Moss said.

dbarbari@projo.com