Le’Veon who? Offense clicks
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers aren't playing like a team missing Le'Veon Bell.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns, James Conner ran for 65 yards and a score before leaving late with a possible concussion and the Steelers pounded the Carolina Panthers 52-21 on Thursday night for their fifth straight victory.
Antonio Brown added eight receptions for 96 yards — including a 53-yard touchdown in the second quarter — to cap an eventful day that began with the star wide receiver being cited for reckless driving.
“Really big performance against a really good team on a short week so there is a lot to be proud of,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “But we are probably not that good.”
While Bell — a three-time Pro Bowl running back who still hasn't signed his oneyear franchise tender — tweeted his thoughts as he watched on television, the Steelers (6-2-1) rolled on without him. His teammates have long since tired of talking about Bell's status and at this point, the AFC North leaders appear to be doing just fine on their own.
Carolina not so much. The Panthers (6-3) saw their three-game winning streak come to an abrupt halt in a city where they've never won. Carolina fell to 0-4 all-time in Pittsburgh and was never really in it after the Steelers scored 21 points in the game's first 11 minutes.
Cam Newton completed 23-of-29 for 193 yards and a pair of flips to Christian McCaffrey that the secondyear running back turned into scores, but Newton's showdown with Roethlisberger never materialized. The Steelers sacked Newton five times and rarely let him get comfortable.
Newton didn't help matters when he threw off his back foot out of the Carolina end zone while trying to avoid getting sacked in the first quarter. Pittsburgh linebacker Vince Williams raced under the floater and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Steelers a 14-7 lead they never came close to relinquishing.
McCaffrey finished with 138 yards total offense (77 yards rushing, 61 yards receiving) and accounted for all three Panther scores, but it wasn't nearly enough.
The Steelers held the 36year-old Roethlisberger out of practice during the short week in an effort to keep him fresh. Roethlisberger responded with one of the finest performances, completing 22 of 25 passes while spreading the ball to nine players on his way to a perfect QB rating of 158.3. He even scrambled for 18 yards in the third quarter.
“We knew we were going to have to put up a lot of points,” he said. “We did that. The defense, they were playing like their hair was on fire.”