Steelers cruise, clinch bye
Ben Roethlisberger told his teammates they didn’t need to make up for Antonio Brown’s absence. He just wanted everyone to do what they could to help out, figuring that would be enough.
It certainly was.
“I know everyone was thinking about A.B. not being out there and trying to fill those shoes, but you can’t fill those shoes,” Roethlisberger said. “I just tried to tell them: ‘Don’t try to fill them, just try to be the best you can be.’”
Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns in the first game since Brown injured his calf, and the Steelers clinched a first-round playoff bye with a 34-6 win against the Texans yesterday in Houston.
Roethlisberger threw passes to six players as Pittsburgh (12-3) romped past the lowly Texans (4-11) despite missing the NFL’s leading receiver.
“It just kind of shows how many weapons we actually have in our offense . . . everybody played well,” Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell said. “Ben made the plays when he needed to. I made some plays on third down when I needed to. It was literally a total team effort.”
The Steelers led 20-0 at halftime after taking advantage of two turnovers by the Texans. Bell added a 10yard TD run late in the third quarter and rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster made it 34-6 with an 18-yard touchdown grab in the fourth.
Bell finished with 14 carries for 69 yards and SmithSchuster had six receptions for 75 yards.
“Significant day for us,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “Our last regular-season road game, finishing 7-1, getting our 12th win, securing a ticket to the second round. All very positive things, but it’s kind of the culmination of being singularly focused on the next opportunity.”
T.J. Yates was 7-of-16 for 83 yards and a touchdown for the Texans, who lost their fifth straight game and for the eighth time in nine games.
“It’s brutal,” coach Bill O’Brien said of Houston’s skid. “It’s been a tough year.”
Yates made his second start in as many weeks since Tom Savage sustained a concussion. Yates left the game briefly yesterday to be evaluated for a concussion, and his replacement, Taylor Heinicke, sustained a concussion on his only full possession.
The Steelers hurried and harassed Yates all day with Mike Hilton leading the way with three sacks and three quarterback hits, Cameron Heyward adding two and forcing a fumble. Hilton became the first cornerback with three sacks in a game since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
The Texans couldn’t do much right on a day their home stadium was overtaken by vocal Steelers fans waving their Terrible Towels. One of the few highlights came on an acrobatic 3-yard touchdown reception by DeAndre Hopkins in the fourth quarter. Hopkins deflected the ball with his right hand, reeled it in with his left and got both feet down before falling out of bounds for his NFL-best and franchise-record 13th touchdown reception.
Eagles 19, Raiders 10 — Jake Elliott kicked a 48-yard field goal with 22 seconds left, and host Philadelphia clinched the No.1 seed for the NFC playoffs with a sloppy victory against Oakland.
Ronald Darby intercepted Derek Carr’s pass and ran it back 52 yards with 54 seconds left, but was ruled down by contact at the spot of the pick. Nick Foles then completed four straight passes for 21 yards. After an incomplete pass, Elliott nailed his kick right down the middle.
Derek Barnett returned a fumble for a touchdown after picking up a lateral on Oakland’s final play from scrimmage.
The Eagles (13-2) went to the Super Bowl and lost 24-21 to the Patriots the last time they had home-field advantage following the 2004 season.
Elsewhere in the NFL — Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jaelen Strong said he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at San Francisco. Strong announced the news in two Instagram posts.
Strong caught three passes for 38 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 4433 loss to the 49ers. It was Strong’s debut with the Jaguars, who claimed him off waivers from Houston early in the season. He spent the previous five weeks on the practice squad before getting called up because of injuries.