Roethlisberger, Steelers trample Titans
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 299 yards and four touchdowns, three to Antonio Brown, and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled away from the Tennessee Titans in a 40-17 victory on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.
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 (64) saw their four-game winning streak come to a crash- ing halt. 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.
Still, Tennessee appeared to be in it when Mariota hit Rishard Matthews with a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second half to get to 16-14, but Pittsburgh’s long-sputtering offense finally came to life.
Roethlisberger dropped some not subtle hints that he 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. PATRIOTS BOND IN COLORADO » The New England Patriots spent some time after practice bird watching.
A swooping falcon tends to get a team to gawk.
This has been far froman ordinary week for the Patriots (7-2), who are training at the Air Force Academy (elevation 6,621 feet) in Colorado to acclimatize to altitude for their trip to Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium (7,200 feet) to face the Raiders on Sunday.
As a side benefit, it’s given the players time to hang out a lot of time, especially in the team hotel.
While in town, they’ve visited the U. S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, while some players have taken in the zoo, along with the splendors of the nearby mountains. They’ve had Air Force parachute specialists drop in during practice, learned all about cadet life from Air Force coach Troy Calhoun and were treated to an upclose falcon demonstration at Falcon Stadium.
All this, along with a five-game winning streak, has galvanized an already tight team.
“We all found out we kind of like each other,” cracked defensive back Devin McCourty, whose team made the trek to the Air Force Academy shortly after their 41-16win in Denver on Sunday night. “We’re just trying to have fun. We understand the most fun is usually winning games. We’re trying to bridge that of liking each other, having fun and winning.” PERINE NEW NO. 1 RB IN WASHINGTON » Fish Smithson still can’t get the number 427 out of his head. Being a teammate of Washington running back Samaje Perine is one constant re- minder. Smithson was a safety for Kansas in November 2014 when Oklahoma’s Perine rushed for an NCAA record 427 yards that still stands today.
“I remember him running all over us,” Smithson said.
Three years later, a season- ending injury to Rob Kelley has thrust Perine into the role of the No. 1 back for Washington. Perine has 66 carries for 210 yards through nine games but will be expected to pick up that pace starting Sunday at New Orleans.
“With Rob’s injury now, we’ll see a lot more Samaje down the stretch here,” coach Jay Gruden said. “I just want to see more production. That’s all.”
Washington will split carries between Perine and third-down back Chris Thompson, but this is the rookie fourth-round pick’s show now.