Ben
Roethlisberger didn't want to use the word
"crossroads." He did anyway.
His team mired in a three-game losing streak and with Tom Brady and
the New England
Patriots on the other sideline Sunday -- a sight that typically
signals doom for Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh
Steelers -- the longtime quarterback understood his team's
enigmatic season had reached a tipping point.
In so many ways.
Rookie running back Jaylen
Samuels ran for a season-high 142 yards in his second NFL
start. The defense that looked so vulnerable in the late going during
Pittsburgh's recent slide figured out a way to slow Brady and Rob
Gronkowski. Embattled kicker Chris Boswell drilled
a critical 48-yard field goal in the final minutes, and the Steelers (8-5-1)
gave their playoff hopes a welcome jolt.
Forced into action with James Conner missing
his second straight game due to a sprained left ankle, Samuels said he's never
been a feature back. Funny, the fifth-round pick considered a bit of a project
certainly looked like one against New England (9-5). Samuels ran 19 times and
caught two passes for 30 yards, including a leaping 20-yard grab on third-and-9
on Pittsburgh's penultimate possession that helped set up Boswell's field goal.
One that helped Pittsburgh preserve its half-game lead over
Baltimore (8-6) in the AFC North with two weeks to go. It also exorcised some
demons. The Steelers had dropped five straight to New England and only beaten
Brady twice in his storied career. Despite never trailing, their third win over
him wasn't assured until Morgan
Burnett knocked down Brady's heave to the end zone intended
for Julian
Edelman with 20 seconds to go.
Roethlisberger threw for 235 yards with two first-half
touchdowns and two interceptions. Boswell, who has struggled so badly this
season the team held open tryouts during the week in search of a possible
replacement, atoned for a 32-yard miss in the third quarter by drilling a
48-yarder with 2:30 remaining that provided the final margin.
MISSED CHANCE
A victory would have given the Patriots their 10th straight
AFC East title. While they still have two shots at it while finishing the
regular season at home, the road issues don't appear to be going away. New
England finished 3-5 away from Gillette Stadium, the first time the Patriots
have a losing road record since 2009.
Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards with a touchdown and
an interception. Pittsburgh held tight end Gronkowski to two receptions for 21
yards. Brady flung a jump ball to Gronkowski deep in Pittsburgh territory
midway through the fourth quarter that was picked off by cornerback Joe Haden,
just Brady's fifth pick in 14 games against the Steelers.
The uncharacteristically sloppy Patriots were flagged 14
times for 106 yards, including a handful of offensive holding calls that
blunted momentum. The Patriots had a second-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 11 with 37
seconds to go when right guard Shaq Mason was
hit with a holding penalty that pushed the ball back to the Pittsburgh 21. The
Patriots would get no closer.
HE SAID IT
"Sometimes you got to cut your eyelids off when you
want to blink when it gets thick, and we talk openly about that." Tomlin
when talking about his team's ability to deal with adversity.
UP NEXT
Patriots: Host Buffalo next Sunday. New England is unbeaten
at home this season (6-0).
Steelers: Visit New Orleans next Sunday. Pittsburgh's last
road victory against the Saints came in 1990.
GAME LEADERS
PASSING YARDS
NE, T. Brady25-36,
279 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
PIT, B. Roethlisberger22-34,
235 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT
RUSHING YARDS
NE, S. Michel 13 CAR,
59 YDS
PIT, J. Samuels 19 CAR,
142 YDS
RECEIVING YARDS
NE, J. Edelman7 REC,
90 YDS
PIT,
J. Washington3 REC,
65 YDS
FINAL SCORING
SUMMARY
|
FINAL
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
T
|
|
NEW ENGLAND
|
7
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
10
|
|
PITTSBURGH
|
7
|
7
|
0
|
3
|
17
|
SCORING
SCORING SUMMARY
|
1ST QUARTER -
8:40
|
||
|
Pittsburgh
|
TD
|
Pittsburgh 7 - New England 0
Vance McDonald 5 yd. pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick) |
|
1ST QUARTER -
6:48
|
||
|
New England
|
TD
|
Pittsburgh 7 - New England 7
Chris Hogan 63 yd. pass from Tom Brady (Stephen Gostkowski kick) |
|
2ND QUARTER -
12:01
|
||
|
Pittsburgh
|
TD
|
Pittsburgh 14 - New England 7
Antonio Brown 17 yd. pass from Ben Roethlisberger (Chris Boswell kick) |
|
3rd Quarter -
0:17
|
||
|
New England
|
FG
|
Pittsburgh 14 - New England 10
Stephen Gostkowski 33 yd. field goal |
|
4th Quarter -
2:30
|
||
|
Pittsburgh
|
FG
|
Pittsburgh 17 - New England 10
Chris Boswell 48 yd. field goal |
TEAMS
TEAM STATS
|
|
NEW ENGLAND
|
PITTSBURGH
|
|
1st Downs
|
18
|
24
|
|
Rushing
|
7
|
9
|
|
Passing
|
9
|
13
|
|
Penalty
|
2
|
2
|
|
3rd Down
Conversions
|
3-10
|
4-9
|
|
4th Down
Conversions
|
0-1
|
0-0
|
|
Punts-Average
|
5-43.2
|
2-39.0
|
|
Return Yards
|
23
|
27
|
|
Punts-Returns
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
|
Kickoffs-Returns
|
1-23
|
1-27
|
|
Int - Returns
|
2-0
|
1-0
|
|
Penalties-Yards
|
14-106
|
4-40
|
|
Fumbles-Lost
|
0-0
|
0-0
|
|
Time of
Possession
|
29:11
|
30:49
|
|
Total Net Yards
|
368
|
376
|
|
Total Plays
|
56
|
61
|
|
Average Gain
|
6.6
|
6.2
|
|
Net Yards
Rushing
|
96
|
158
|
|
Rushes
|
19
|
25
|
|
Average/Rush
|
5.1
|
6.3
|
|
Net Yards
Passing
|
272
|
218
|
|
Comp-Att
|
25-36
|
22-34
|
|
Yards/Pass
|
7.4
|
6.1
|
|
Sacked-Yards
Lost
|
1-7
|
2-17
|
|
Had Intercepted
|
1
|
2
|
|
Touchdowns
|
1
|
2
|
|
Rushing
|
0
|
0
|
|
Passing
|
1
|
2
|
|
Other
|
0
|
0
|
|
Extra Points
|
1-1
|
2-2
|
|
Field Goals
|
1-1
|
1-2
|
|
Red Zone
Efficiency
|
0-3-0%
|
2-3-67%
|
|
Goal To Go
Efficiency
|
0-1-0%
|
1-2-50%
|
|
Safeties
|
0
|
0
|
PLAYER STATS
New England
Patriots (9-5)
|
Passing
|
||||
|
|
COMP/ATT
|
YDS
|
TD
|
INT
|
|
T. Brady
|
25/36
|
279
|
1
|
1
|
Pittsburgh
Steelers (8-5-1)
|
Passing
|
|||||||
|
|
COMP/ATT
|
YDS
|
TD
|
INT
|
|||
|
B.
Roethlisberger
|
22/34
|
235
|
2
|
2
|
|||
|
Rushing
|
|||||||
|
|
ATT
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LG
|
||
|
S. Michel
|
13
|
59
|
4.5
|
0
|
13
|
||
|
R. Burkhead
|
4
|
25
|
6.2
|
0
|
10
|
||
|
J. White
|
2
|
12
|
6.0
|
0
|
6
|
||
|
Rushing
|
|||||||||||
|
|
ATT
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LG
|
||||||
|
J. Samuels
|
19
|
142
|
7.5
|
0
|
25
|
||||||
|
S. Ridley
|
3
|
16
|
5.3
|
0
|
12
|
||||||
|
R. Switzer
|
1
|
3
|
3.0
|
0
|
3
|
||||||
|
B.
Roethlisberger
|
2
|
-3
|
-1.5
|
0
|
-1
|
||||||
|
Receiving
|
|||||||||||
|
|
TAR
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LG
|
|||||
|
J. Edelman
|
11
|
7
|
90
|
12.9
|
0
|
34
|
|||||
|
C. Hogan
|
3
|
2
|
68
|
34.0
|
1
|
63
|
|||||
|
J. White
|
7
|
5
|
25
|
5.0
|
0
|
6
|
|||||
|
R.
Gronkowski
|
5
|
2
|
21
|
10.5
|
0
|
13
|
|||||
|
C.
Patterson
|
3
|
3
|
20
|
6.7
|
0
|
8
|
|||||
|
J. Gordon
|
2
|
1
|
19
|
19.0
|
0
|
19
|
|||||
|
R. Burkhead
|
3
|
3
|
18
|
6.0
|
0
|
8
|
|||||
|
J. Develin
|
2
|
2
|
18
|
9.0
|
0
|
11
|
|||||
|
Receiving
|
|||||||||
|
|
TAR
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVG
|
TD
|
LG
|
|||
|
J.
Washington
|
4
|
3
|
65
|
21.7
|
0
|
32
|
|||
|
A. Brown
|
7
|
4
|
49
|
12.2
|
1
|
24
|
|||
|
J.
Smith-Schuster
|
10
|
4
|
40
|
10.0
|
0
|
22
|
|||
|
J. Samuels
|
2
|
2
|
30
|
15.0
|
0
|
20
|
|||
|
E. Rogers
|
4
|
4
|
20
|
5.0
|
0
|
6
|
|||
|
V. McDonald
|
3
|
2
|
13
|
6.5
|
1
|
8
|
|||
|
R. Switzer
|
2
|
2
|
9
|
4.5
|
0
|
8
|
|||
|
J. James
|
1
|
1
|
9
|
9.0
|
0
|
9
|
|||
|
Interceptions
|
|||||||||
|
|
NO.
|
YDS
|
TD
|
||||||
|
D. Harmon
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
||||||
|
Interceptions
|
|||||
|
|
NO.
|
YDS
|
TD
|
||
|
J. Haden
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
||
|
Sacks
|
|||||
|
|
NO.
|
YDS
|
|||
|
K. Van Noy
|
1.0
|
10.0
|
|||
|
J. Jones
|
1.0
|
7.0
|
|||
|
Sacks
|
|||
|
|
NO.
|
YDS
|
|
|
T. Watt
|
1.0
|
7.0
|
|
|
Tackles
|
|||
|
|
Tk
|
Ast
|
|
|
J. McCourty
|
7
|
2
|
|
|
J. Jackson
|
6
|
0
|
|
|
J. Jones
|
5
|
0
|
|
|
P. Chung
|
5
|
0
|
|
|
S. Gilmore
|
3
|
0
|
|
|
K. Van Noy
|
3
|
0
|
|
|
M. Brown
|
3
|
1
|
|
|
D. McCourty
|
3
|
2
|
|
|
D.
Hightower
|
2
|
1
|
|
|
T. Flowers
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
D. Harmon
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
E. Roberts
|
1
|
0
|
|
|
L. Guy
|
1
|
5
|
|
|
A. Butler
|
0
|
1
|
|
|
J. Simon
|
0
|
1
|
|
|
Tackles
|
||
|
|
Tk
|
Ast
|
|
J. Haden
|
8
|
4
|
|
M. Hilton
|
5
|
2
|
|
V. Williams
|
3
|
0
|
|
T. Watt
|
3
|
0
|
|
S. Davis
|
3
|
3
|
|
J. Bostic
|
2
|
0
|
|
S. Tuitt
|
2
|
1
|
|
M. Burnett
|
2
|
2
|
|
T. Edmunds
|
2
|
4
|
|
A. Burns
|
1
|
0
|
|
T. Alualu
|
1
|
0
|
|
C.
Sensabaugh
|
1
|
0
|
|
C. Sutton
|
1
|
1
|
|
J. Hargrave
|
1
|
2
|
|
C. Heyward
|
1
|
3
|
|
A. Chickillo
|
0
|
3
|
|
Tackles For Loss
|
||
|
|
NO.
|
|
|
J. Jones
|
1.0
|
|
|
K. Van Noy
|
1.0
|
|
|
Tackles For Loss
|
|
|
|
NO.
|
|
V. Williams
|
1.0
|
|
T. Watt
|
1.0
|
|
Fumbles
|
|
|
|
NO.
|
|
No fumbles
|
|
|
Fumbles
|
|
|
|
NO.
|
|
No fumbles
|
|
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