Steelers overwhelm Panthers
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 in Pittsburgh on Thursday night.
“Really big performance against a really good team on a short week so there is a lot to be proud of,” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said. “But we are probably not that good.”
Pittsburgh’s Antonio Brown had eight receptions for 96 yards — one for a 53-yard touchdown in the second quarter — to cap an eventful day that began with the Pro Bowl wide receiver being cited for reckless driving after police clocked Brown’s Porsche driving over 100 mph down a busy highway.
The Steelers (6-2-1), who have won five in a row, snapped a three-game winning streak for the Panthers (6-3).
“We had a lot of our noses bleeding early,” said Carolina quarterback Cam Newton, who passed for 193 yards and two TDs. “We just got outplayed today.”
The New York Jets announced that Josh McCown will start at quarterback Sunday against the Buffalo Bills in place of injured rookie Sam Darnold (strained right foot).
Obituary: Running back Wally Triplett, one of the first African Americans drafted by an NFL team, has died at 92. The Detroit Lions made Triplett the third African American selected in the 1949 draft, and he was the first of those draftees to play in a regular-season game. He played in 24 games for the Lions and Chicago Cardinals.
College football: Jamie Newman threw a 32-yard TD pass to Jack Freudenthal with 30 seconds left to give visiting Wake Forest (5-5, 2-4 ACC) a 27-23 win over No. 22 North Carolina State (6-3, 3-3).
Utah running back Zack Moss, who has rushed for 1,092 yards and 11 touchdowns, will miss the rest of the season after injuring a knee Wednesday.
College basketball: Kalani Brown scored 23 points as No. 4 Baylor improved to 2-0 by dropping visiting St. Francis (Pa.) to 0-2 with a 116-58 romp.
In a men’s game, Sedrick Barefield scored 18 points to lead host Utah (1-0) to a 75-61 win over Maine (0-2).
Soccer: Jessica McDonald scored in the 43rd minute and the U.S. women recorded their 500th victory, a 1-0 win over Portugal in Lisbon. The U.S. team is 500-65-74 since 1985.
After the host Seattle Sounders beat Portland 3-2 to tie the MLS Western Conference semifinal series in aggregate goals at 4-4, Dairon Asprilla scored the decisive goal in the shootout round as the Timbers won to advance to the the West finals.
JJ Foe Nuphaus scored in the 85th minute as visiting Cal (7-9-2, 3-7 Pac-12) prevailed 1-0 over No. 6 Stanford (11-3-4, 7-2-1) to end a 10-match winless streak in the series.
Golf: Matt Kuchar opened with a 7-under-par 64 for a share of the lead with Dominic Bozzelli and Kramer Hickok at the PGA Tour’s Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Jordan Spieth shot a 71.
Sergio Garcia’s 8-under 64 was good for a four-shot lead at the European Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa.
In Phoenix, Paul Goydos and Tim Petrovic each shot an 8under 63 to share the lead in the Charles Schwab Cup Championship, the PGA Tour Champions’ season finale.