Steelers football blog

You are not dreaming Steelers lose 29-23 in OT

Tim Tebow, the worst quarterback statistically in the league, topped the best game of his short NFL career by throwing an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime as the Denver Broncos shocked the Steelers 29-23 in their playoff game tonight.

The Steelers came from 14 points down to forge a 23-23 tie and send the playoff game into overtime, but the Broncos won the coin flip and elected to receive.

Tebow dropped back from his 20 and fired over the middle to Demaryius Thomas. He caught the ball at the Denver 38, stiff-armed cornerback Ike Taylor at the 45 and ran the rest of the way to the end zone, beating the beleagured Taylor all the way.

Denver, an 8-point underdog, advances to a Saturday night playoff at the New England Patriots.

The Steelers mounted a final drive in regulation to try to win it from their 24 with 1:37 left. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked on the first play, but then completed consecutive passes of 17 to Antonio Brown and 18 to Emmanuel Sanders, both outstanding catches.

However, Roethlisberger was sacked again, losing 11 on a stripped ball by end Elvis Dumervil back to the Steelers 44, essentially ended that threat and sending the game into overtime. (continue)

Battered Steelers beat Titans 38-17

The Steelers -- battered, bruised and unbowed -- ran out to a big lead and beat the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field today, 38-17.

Ben Roethlisberger, playing with a special shoe to protect his sprained left foot, threw five touchdown passes to tie the team record again. He has done it twice, and Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone once each.

Hines Ward caught two touchdown passes of 7 and 5 yards. Heath Miller caught an 8-yard touchdown pass, and David Johnson caught a 1-yard scoring pass. Mike Wallace caught the final one of 40 yards with 2:39 left. Roethlisberger and Wallace have now hooked up on 10 touchdown passes of 40 or more, stretching their team record.

Backup halfback Jonathan Dwyer, playing only because of injuries to Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore, already had 100 yards on five carries by the end of the third quarter and finished with 107 yards on 11 carries.

The Steelers and Tennessee are both 3-2. (continue) 

Big Ben beat up in loss to Texans

A Steelers second-half comeback fizzled as the Houston Texans put their running game in gear to pull out a 17-10 victory today.

The loss dropped the Steelers to 2-2. The Texans raised their record to 3-1.

Arian Foster's 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter broke a 10-10 tie to give Houston the victory.

The Steelers had one last good attempt to tie the game back up when they had a first down at Houston's 48 with 3:33 to go. However, they managed only three yards in four plays, and the Texans took over.

They were forced to punt, but they downed the ball at the one with 1:02 left and going 99 yards for the Steelers' offense in a minute was out of the question. Ben Roethlisberger's deep pass from his 40 was intercepted at the 10 with 10 seconds left.

The Steelers came back from a 10-0 halftime deficit to tie it 10-10 to open the fourth quarter but then ran out of steam.

The Steelers finally tied the game on Shaun Suisham's 26-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 10-10. However, the Texans wiped that out and more with a five-play drive that covered 85 yards, the final 42 on a romp around right end by Arian Foster. That pushed Foster way over 100 yards, the second back in four games to top that against the once-stout Steelers' run defense. (continue)

Steelers flat in 23-20 win over Colts

The ball traced a sublime arc inside Lucas Oil Stadium, and Ben Roethlisberger put just enough air under it for Mike Wallace to catch it in stride,

After gathering in what would turn into the third-longest pass of Roethlisberger's career, Wallace was off and running with an 81-yard touchdown.

Unfortunately for the Steelers, not everyone else followed that lead.

The Steelers squandered an early 10-point lead and a late seven-point advantage, but Roethlisberger bailed them out at the end.

Roethlisberger engineered a 10-play, 60-yard drive that Shaun Suisham capped with a 38-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the game.

A 23-20 victory Sunday in front of an announced crowd of 66,309 proved to be more drama-filled than Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would have liked — or that it needed to be.

Of course, what mattered most after the Steelers overcame three first-half turnovers that gifted 13 points to the winless Colts is they are 2-1 and tied for first in the AFC North. (continue)

Steelers shut out lowly Seahawks 24-0

The Steelers rebounded nicely from their opening-day jitters in Baltimore by crushing the Seattle Seahawks 24-0 today at Heinz Field.

The Steelers scored three times in the first half and once in the third quarter.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace in the third quarter as the Steelers ran out to a 24-0 lead after leading 17-0 at halftime.

Several big plays led to that lone score of the third quarter. Antonio Brown caught passes of 14 and 18 yards, Hines Ward caught a toe-tapping 15-yard pass on third down along the sideline and Wallace turned a short pass into a 17-yard gain.

The Steelers missed another score when Troy Polamalu jumped in front of a Tarvaris Jackson pass with nothing but air between him at the Seattle 18 and the end zone but Polamalu dropped it. (continue)

7 TOs doom Steelers, lose to Ravens 35-7

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who did not lose a turnover in four preseason games, apparently saved them all up for their opener today -- seven of them, the most ever in a game for the Ravens.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions, lost two fumbles on sacks by Terrell Suggs and lost another on a handoff exchange. Halfback Mewelde Moore also fumbled at the Ravens' 17 after a 22-yard reception.

Suggs sacked Roethlisberger three times, ending the game with his third.

Those seven turnovers helped the Baltimore Ravens run over the Steelers, 35-7, their worst opening-day loss since Dallas beat them 37-7 to start the 1997 season.

The Ravens scored early and often, jumping out to a first-quarter lead of 14-0 and were ahead 21-7 at the half.

Joe Flacco, who had never beaten the Steelers in a game in which Roethlisberger had played, threw three touchdown passes -- 27 yards to Anquan Boldin, 11 yards to Ray Rice and 18 yards to Ed Dickson.

Ed Reed intercepted two passes for the Ravens, both near his own goal line to prevent possible Steelers scores. (continue)

No final drive for Big Ben and Steelers

Cancel those plans to attend the victory parade Downtown. Hold off on putting Ben Roethlisberger among the NFL's elite quarterbacks.

Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers got the better of Roethlisberger on Sunday night in Super Bowl XLV, and the Packers held off the Steelers, 31-25, at Cowboys Stadium.

The Steelers fell behind, 21-3, late in the second quarter, but they had nearly wiped out the entire deficit less than five minutes into the second half. After finding a way to win all season, the Steelers could not cap what would have been a historic comeback in front of 103,219, the second-largest crowd in Super Bowl history.

They had a chance, too. A 23-yard Mason Crosby field goal gave the Packers a six-point lead with 2:07 left. That's usually more than enough time for Roethlisberger, but he could not work his magic on this night: The Steelers managed only one first down before turning the ball over on downs.

"I feel like I let I like the city of Pittsburgh down — the fans, my teammates, Coach. It's not a good feeling," Roethlisberger said. "There's a lot of throws I'd like to have back." (Tribune)

Here We Go! Steelers hold on to defeat Jets

Dallas may fancy itself as America's team, but that city is where the Steelers will try to put more distance between themselves and the Cowboys.

And every other NFL franchise, for that matter.

Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 121 yards and a touchdown, and the Steelers survived a furious second-half rally to beat the New York Jets, 24-19, on Sunday night in the AFC Championship Game.

The Steelers (14-4) have a chance to win a seventh Super Bowl in Dallas, and a victory would give them two more Lombardi Trophies than the Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers -- their closest pursuers in the NFL's benchmark for excellence.

Super Bowl XLV will pit the Steelers against the Green Bay Packers, another of the league's storied franchises, on Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium.

"We're very similar organizations, the way we operate," Steelers chairman emeritus Dan Rooney said in the victorious locker room last night. "We have great respect for them, and we always have. It's wonderful to have two smaller-market teams playing in the Super Bowl."

The Steelers outgained the Jets (13-6) by 171 yards in the first half, scored the first 24 points of the game and almost registered an early knockout. (Tribune)

Steelers come back and crush Ravens 31-24

The Steelers overcame a bumbling, fumbling first half by scoring three times off three third-quarter turnovers to roar from behind to a pulsating 31-24 playoff victory at raucous Heinz Field tonight.

With the game tied and the Steelers facing a third-and-19 at their 38 with just over two minutes left, Ben Roethlisberger uncorked a deep pass that rookie Antonio Brown caught and then held control by holding it against his helmet before his momentum took him out of bounds at the Baltimore four with 1:58 to go.

It took four plays plus a Ravens penalty but on third down Rashard Mendenhall ran up the middle for a touchdown to put the Steelers on top by seven with 1:33 left.

The Steelers will play the winner of Sunday's New York Jets-New England Patriots playoff game for the AFC championship Jan. 23. If the Jets win, the game will be in Heinz Field. If the Patriots win, it will be in New England. (PPG)

Steelers breeze past lowly Panthers 27-3

The Steelers did their part and now it's down to one team -- Cleveland, either this Sunday or next.

After they put the Carolina Panthers in a 27-3 box at Heinz Field and returned them to Charlotte, N.C., for Christmas, the Steelers turn toward Cleveland to determine if they get a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Should the Browns upset Baltimore Sunday in Cleveland, the Steelers will clinch the AFC North Division and the No. 2 playoff seed in the conference. If Baltimore beats the Browns, the Steelers can produce the same playoff spot by winning Jan. 2 in Cleveland.

"I'm rooting for Cleveland," linebacker James Farrior proclaimed. "I'm a Cleveland fan this weekend. ... It wouldn't hurt to get a little help from somebody."

The Steelers raised their record to 11-4. The Panthers are 2-13.

The Steelers ran out to a 20-0 halftime lead against Carolina and toyed with the Panthers in the second half. (PPG)