Steelers prevail, get 1st-round bye
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns in the first game since NFL receiving leader Antonio Brown injured his calf, and the Steelers clinched a firstround playoff bye with a 34-6 win over the Texans on Monday in Houston.
Roethlisberger threw passes to six players, including rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had six catches for 75 yards. One of those was an 18-yard touchdown grab in the fourth quarter.
Le’Veon Bell rushed for 69 yards on 14 carries and scored on a 10-yard run in the third for the Steelers (12-3).
“It just shows how many weapons we actually have in our offense,” 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 (4-11).
“Our last regular-season road game, finishing 7-1, getting our 12th win, securing a ticket to the second round — all very positive things,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “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 and for the eighth time in nine games.
Yates made his second straight start since Tom Savage sustained a concussion. Yates left the game briefly to be evaluated for a concussion, and his replacement, Taylor Heinicke, sustained a concussion on his only full possession. Schedule changes:
To ensure that all games with playoff implications that impact each other are played at the same time, the NFL is has announced schedule changes for Week 17.
This Sunday’s Bills-Dolphins, Bengals-Ravens and Jaguars-Titans games will all move from 1 p.m. Eastern to 4:25 starts and remain on CBS. The Panthers-Falcons and Saints-Buccaneers games will both move from 1 p.m. to 4:25 and remain on FOX. Pereira urges change:
Former NFL officiating vice president Mike Pereira suggests that the rule book be changed.
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. The latest example came Sunday, when a 4-yard touchdown catch by the Bills’ Kelvin Benjamin just before halftime against the Patriots was overturned on review.
“Nothing more irritating to an official than to make a great call and then someone in New York incorrectly reverses it,” Pereira posted on Twitter. “Now that another touchdown has been taken away without clear and obvious evidence, it is time to move on to the catch rule. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make sense.” Jaguars WR done:
Jaguars wide receiver Jaelen Strong tore the ACL in his left knee Sunday against the 49ers and will miss the remainder of the season.