NFL: Steelers come up clutch against Patriots for a much-needed victory
Ben Roethlisberger didn’t want to use the word “crossroads.” He did anyway.
His team mired in a threegame 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.
“Are we going to step up and play? Are we going to divide each other? Who knows?” Roethlisberger said after a taut 17-10 victory. “This was going to be a great challenge for us against a team that is always one of the best. I thought we answered the bell today.” In so many ways. Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels ran for a season-high 142 yards in his second NFL start. The defence 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.
“I knew it was a big game; it was a redemption game for last year,” said Samuels, a senior at North Carolina State last fall when Pittsburgh collapsed late in a loss to the Patriots. “I just wanted to go out there and give them my all.”
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 thirdand-9 on Pittsburgh’s penultimate possession that helped set up Boswell’s field goal.
“I was just staying relaxed, didn’t want to stay too tensed up,” Samuels said. “Just do what I do. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game ... it was a pretty good outcome.”
One that helped Pittsburgh preserve its half-game lead over Baltimore (8-6) in the AFC North with two weeks to go.