Brady’s bunch comes through in crunch
PITTSBURGH Aided by one questionable decision by Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski did it to the Pittsburgh Steelers again.
Brady fed Gronkowski repeatedly to set up Dion Lewis’s go-ahead eight-yard touchdown with 56 seconds remaining and Roethlisberger was intercepted in the end zone with five seconds left as the New England Patriots rallied to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 2724 on Sunday.
The Patriots (11-3) gained the inside track for home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs by ending Pittsburgh’s eight-game winning streak. Brady threw for 298 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Gronkowski, fresh off a onegame suspension, finished with nine receptions for 168 yards, including four on the game-winning drive.
It briefly looked like it wouldn’t be enough. The Steelers (11-3), who played most of the game without injured wide receiver Antonio Brown, appeared to take the lead when Roethlisberger connected with tight end Jesse James for a 10yard touchdown with 28 seconds left. The play was overturned on review, with official Tony Corrente saying the ball did not “survive” the completion of the catch.
Roethlisberger hit Darrius Heyward-Bey for a short gain, but stayed in bounds. With the clock running and no time outs left, Roethlisberger hurried to the line. Rather than spike it to set up a short kick that would have sent the game to overtime, Roethlisberger tried to win it.
Instead, he lost it. His pass to Eli Rogers was batted into the air, and New England safety Duron Harmon came down with it. One kneel later and the Patriots had their fifth straight victory over the Steelers.
Roethlisberger completed 22 of 30 for 281 yards with two touchdowns and the pick. Le’Veon Bell ran for 117 yards and added another 48 receiving as Pittsburgh hung in there even with Brown, the NFL’s leading receiver, in a hospital having his left calf examined.
The Steelers’ star receiver suffered a partly torn calf muscle. While Brown’s regular season is over, his injury won’t require surgery and the Steelers hope he can return for the post-season.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin hardly downplayed the pre-game hype, welcoming the moment and the pressure that comes along with it even while facing an opponent he’s beaten just twice during his 11-year tenure and never in a game of true consequence, including a blowout loss in the AFC championship game 11 months ago.
Pittsburgh received an early emotional jolt when cameras cut to injured linebacker Ryan Shazier sitting in a private box less than two weeks removed from spinal stabilization surgery. The 25-yearold is recovering from the surgery performed on Dec. 6, two days after leaving a Monday night victory over Cincinnati on a stretcher.