Nose tackle’s late interception stymies Steelers
Broncos nose tackle Shelby Harris celebrates his game-clinching interception in the end zone with offensive tackle Billy Turner, right.
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Harris, who missed Friday’s practice for the birth of his daughter, kept the football from his first career
interception and took it to the hospital when he went to be with his wife and baby afterward.
The Broncos (5-6) also recovered two
fumbles to counter a 97-yard touchdown toss from Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster. Roethlisberger finished 41 of 56 for 462 yards, but he also threw two interceptions.
“It’s going to be a quiet plane ride home,” Smith-Schuster said after the Steelers (7-31) lost for the first time since September.
Phillip Lindsay rushed for 110 yards and the game-deciding touchdown on just 14 carries for Denver, which also ended the Chargers’ six-game winning streak last week.
Former Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby forced James Connor to cough up the football after a 23-yard gain and Darian Stewart recovered it at the Denver 21. The Broncos then went 79 yards on 11 plays, with Lindsay taking it in from 2 yards to break a 17-17 tie with 9:17 to go.
Roby and Stewart earlier were burned on Smith-Schuster’s long touchdown grab in the third quarter.
Roethlisberger was backed up into his own end zone after the Broncos downed Colby Wadman’s punt at the 3, and Roethlisberger was knocked down by Harris as he uncorked a pass while backpedaling.
Smith-Schuster, who raced past Roby, hauled it in at the Pittsburgh 35, then evaded Roby and Stewart the rest of the way, stiff-arming Stewart to the ground in front of the Broncos bench. Roby tripped over Stewart and both watched from the turf as Smith-Schuster scored to break a 10-10 halftime tie. SmithSchuster finished with 13 catches for 189 yards.
Roethlisberger had 25 completions by halftime, the most in the first half of a regular-season game by a Steelers QB since 1960, but it took a fake field goal for Pittsburgh to reach the end zone. Kicker Chris Boswell threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to left tackle Alejandro Villanueva to tie it at 10.