Steelers clinch playoff bye with throttling of Texans
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns, and the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched a firstround playoff bye with a 34-6 win over the Houston Texans on Monday in Houston.
Roethlisberger threw passes to six players as Pittsburgh (12-3) romped over the lowly Texans (4-11) despite missing NFL leading receiver Antonio Brown, who sat out with a calf injury.
The Steelers led, 20-0, at halftime after taking advantage of two turnovers by the Texans. Le’Veon 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 Smith-Schuster had six receptions for 75 yards.
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.
The Steelers hurried and harassed Yates all day with Mike Hilton leading the way with three sacks.
Replay under more scrutiny: With yet another touchdown reversal by officiating chief Al Riveron, the only thing that’s “clear and obvious” anymore is the owners’ decision to grant full replay authority to NFL headquarters has only added to the league’s cluster of headaches.
After Jets tight end Austin SeferianJenkins lost two TDs and Bears tight end Zach Miller another this season, the latest example came Sunday when Buffalo Bills receiver Kelvin Benjamin’s 4yard TD catch just before halftime against the New England Patriots was overturned on review.
Initially, Benjamin was ruled to have gotten both feet down while in possession of the ball. After looking at replays, officials ruled that he was juggling the ball when his first foot hit the turf.
“It was clear and obvious that he did not have control of the ball until he brought it all the way down into his chest,” referee Craig Wrolstad said in a pool report after the game.
It didn’t appear to be so egregious a call as to merit the league’s reversal, however, and the decision was met with widespread criticism.
Bills coach Sean McDermott, whose team settled for a field goal and a 13-13 halftime tie before fading after halftime, was perplexed by the league’s decision.
“I am at a loss for how a play like that can get overturned,” he said.
Former NFL officiating VP Mike Pereira was, too.
“Regarding the Buffalo no touchdown, nothing more irritating to an official than to make a great call and then someone in a suit in an office in New York incorrectly reverses it,” he posted on Twitter.
Jaguars lose another receiver: Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Jaelen Strong said Monday he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at San Francisco. Strong announced the news in two Instagram posts, saying “this lil setback setting me up for a greater comeback.”
Jacksonville already has receivers Allen Robinson (knee) and Rashad Greene (back) on season-ending injured reserve. Allen Hurns missed his sixth consecutive game because of a high-ankle sprain, and leading receiver Marqise Lee sat out Sunday with an ankle injury.