Steelers’ no-huddle offense too much for Titans
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns, three to Antonio Brown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled away from the visiting Tennessee Titans in a 40-17 victory on Thursday night.
Running the no-huddle offense extensively for the first time all season, Roethlisberger completed 30 of 45 passes to help the Steelers (8-2) win their fifth straight.
Brown caught 10 passes for 144 yards and the three scores, including an acrobatic grab in the back of the end zone in which he pinned the ball to his helmet before bringing it in to put Pittsburgh up 20 in the fourth quarter.
Marcus Mariota ran for a touchdown and threw for another but also was picked off four times as the Titans (6-4) saw their four-game winning streak end. Mariota finished 22 of 33 for 306 yards but was under pressure much of the night, absorbing five sacks and rarely finding room to move outside the pocket.
Roethlisberger wanted the freedom provided by the no-huddle after the Steelers used it to pick the Colts apart during the winning drive Sunday in Indianapolis.
The Steelers finally showcased the firepower they’ve only flirted with this season. Roethlisberger was near perfect over the final 30 minutes. He finished 20 of 23 for 185 yards in the second half as Pittsburgh’s $92 million offense sprang to life by scoring on four straight possessions after the Titans cut the lead to 16-14.
NFL denies Jones’ request for meeting
The NFL has rebuffed a request by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to call a special owners meeting in less than two weeks to discuss the current negotiations to extend commissioner Roger Goodell’s contract, The New York Times reported.
The request for an emergency meeting was the latest gambit by Jones to derail the negotiations, which have gone on for nearly six months and are largely complete. Jones had been a nonvoting member of the compensation committee, which is handling the contract discussions, but he was removed two weeks ago because he threatened to sue the NFL and the other six committee members if they did not halt the negotiations.
Jones has been trying to impede the negotiations since mid-August, when Goodell suspended Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott. But his threat to sue the league and his fellow owners ignited one of the most vicious intraleague fights in years, throwing the NFL into further discord while it tries to grapple with a host of other complex issues.
The fight over Goodell’s contract has become so intractable that several owners have warned Jones that his efforts are hurting the league, and could prompt penalties. Still, any penalties would not include attempting to force Jones to sell the Cowboys, the owner of one franchise told The Washington Post.
“I don’t know where this is coming from about stripping him of his franchise,” the owner said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the threat of litigation by Jones. “That’s ridiculous. That’s not going to happen.”
That was confirmed by two others with knowledge of the league’s inner workings.