‘Today was bigger than a game’
Steelers’ victory offers a temporary solace for grieving Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner ran for 146 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
PITTSBURGH— The Steelers brought some joy to a city that needed it more than ever.
Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes to Antonio Brown, James Conner scored twice, and Pittsburgh beat the Cleveland Browns 33-18 on Sunday to bring some solace to an area grieving from tragedy.
The Steelers (4-2-1) overcame a slow start and their own mistakes to win their 15th straight at Heinz Field over the Browns (2-5-1), who have lost 25 consecutive road games — one shy of the NFL record.
The win brought temporary comfort to Pittsburgh’s fans and western Pennsylvania still in shock a day after a gunman stormed into the Tree of Life Synagogue and killed 11 people. A moment of silence was observed before the game and several signs with the Steelers’ helmet logo — inlaid with a Star of David — were displayed by fans.
“We’re thankful for a victory, but we also understand that there are bigger things,” Roethlisberger said. “There’s life. I’m glad that we could give people maybe three hours of a break of maybe not thinking about it all the time, and that’s what sports does sometimes is it helps you to kind of heal. But it’s over and people are going to celebrate and enjoy this, but reality still sets in for a lot of people.”
Roethlisberger connected on TD passes of 43 and one yard with Brown, and Conner continued to minimize Le’Veon Bell’s absence. Conner ran for 60 yards on a 78-yard drive he capped with a12-yard TD run in the third quarter that put the Steelers ahead 23-12.
Conner’s 22-yard run with 2:04 left made it 33-12.
“Today was much bigger than agame of football,” said Conner, who played at Pitt before joining the Steelers and ran for 146 yards Sunday. “It was good that we got the win to try to uplift some spirits and vibes of everybody in our city. It’s really a tragedy. Our city took a hit and our hearts are with all of the victims and their families. We still have those in mind.”
Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a pair of TD passes, but the Browns squandered some early scoring chances and remain winless in Pittsburgh since 2003.
The loss will put further heat on embattled Browns coach Hue Jackson, who dropped to 3-36-1 in two-plus seasons.
“It’s disheartening,” Jackson said. “We’ve got work to do.”
Conner’s first TD came after Steelers return man Ryan Switzer inexplicably allowed a free kick following a safety to roll free and the Browns recovered at Pittsburgh’s 24-yard line.
The Steelers then committed three penalties — roughing the passer, interference and holding — to give Cleveland a first down at the 1. On the next play, Mayfield avoided pressure and lofted his scoring pass to rookie Antonio Callaway, who caught it despite being held to pull the Browns within 16-12. But with the momentum in Cleveland’s favour, Pittsburgh grabbed control of the game and in turn soothed some pain after Saturday’s stunning shooting.
“We have a lot of healing to do,” said defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.
“Our city can overcome this, but everybody’s gotta love and care. We’ll continue to do our part. I know everybody in this locker room cares so much for everybody that was involved in that and we’re going to continue to care.”