Steelers air it out against Chiefs
The Pittsburgh Steelers spent a week letting their worst loss in 27 years fester. Catharsis came during a frenetic stretch in the first quarter Sunday night against the seemingly unprepared Kansas City Chiefs.
Six offensive snaps. Three Ben Roethlisberger touchdown passes. Two to Antonio Brown. One very important reminder of just how good Pittsburgh’s offense can look when all of its dynamic parts are in sync.
Seven days after a 31-point loss in Philadelphia, the Steelers (3-1) overwhelmed the Chiefs 43-14 behind five touchdown passes from Roethlisberger and 178 yards of total offense from running back Le’Veon Bell.
“I told the guys before the game, we’re driving a car and we don’t have a rearview mirror right now,” Roethlisberger said. “We’re not looking back. We’re looking forward.”
Roethlisberger hit Brown for two scores. Roethlisberger also found Markus Wheaton, Darrius Heyward-Bey and Jesse James for touchdowns, finishing 22-for-27 for 300 yards.
Bell returned from a torn MCL that cut short his 2015 season and a threegame suspension for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and looked every bit as dangerous as he did when he was an All-Pro in 2014. “I didn’t really feel like I was rusty,” Bell said. “I was more anxious.”
The Steelers forced two first-quarter turnovers that Roethlisberger turned into touchdowns during a franchise-record 22-point deluge. Pittsburgh came into Sunday with one sack, last in the NFL, but got to Kansas City’s Alex Smith four times and denied any rhythm to the Chiefs, who got two fourth-quarter touchdowns after things were out of hand.
“You own this right now, you wear it, and it stinks,” Smith said. Broncos 27, Buccaneers 7: Quarterback Paxton Lynch made his NFL debut sooner than expected, replacing injured starter Trevor Siemian to help visiting Denver remain unbeaten at 4-0. Siemian left the game with two minutes left in the first half with what the defending Super Bowl champions described as an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder. For the second straight Sunday, play was stopped in the fourth quarter at Raymond James Stadium because of inclement weather. The game was suspended for 1 hour, 26 minutes, with only a few thousand fans re183
turning to their seats for the conclusion. Jameis Winston ran for a first-quarter touchdown but threw two interceptions and was sacked five times for Tampa Bay (1-3).
Seahawks 27, Jets 17: Quarterback Russell Wilson, playing with a sprained knee, threw three touchdown passes as Seattle (3-1) won at MetLife Stadium for the first time since beating the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl in February 2014. Wilson injured the medial collateral ligament in his left knee in Week 3 against the 49ers and wasn’t his usual mobile self, but his arm was plenty good. He finished 23-for-32 for 309 yards while wearing a brace on his leg. Jimmy Graham had six catches for 113 yards, including an impressive 17-yard one-handed grab in the opening quarter, while giving the Jets (1-3) fits all game. Jaguars 30, Colts 27: Blake Bortles threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as Jacksonville held off a n Indianapolis rally for the Jaguars’ first win of the season. The victory at raucous Wembley Stadium in London elevated Jacksonville into a tie with Indianapolis at 1-3 in the AFC South. Andrew Luck led the Colts on three fourth-quarter touchdown drives to rattle the Jaguars’ nerves. His 4thand-1 pass at the Jacksonville 49 with 1:36 left fell from the hands of tight end Dwayne Allen to preserve the victory for Jacksonville. Washington 31, Browns 20: Kirk Cousins threw three touchdown passes, including two to tight end Jordan Reed, and Washington cashed in on several trips to the red zone. Washington (2-2) scored four red-zone touchdowns against the Browns (0-4) after going 3-for-14 in its first three games. Cousins connected with Reed for 8- and 9-yard touchdowns, Chris Thompson for a 5-yard score, and running back Matt Jones scored from 1 yard as part of his 117-yard performance. Jones eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the first time this season, and Cousins finished 21-for-27 for
yards and also had an interception. Cleveland’s Isaiah Crowell ran for 112 yards and a touchdown, and Cody Kessler was 27-for-38 for 215 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Turnovers on three straight second-half possessions cost Cleveland a chance at its first victory.
Texans 27, Titans 20: Will Fuller had a tie-breaking 67-yard punt return for a touchdown. It was the first time Houston (3-1) played without defensive end J.J. Watt since the 2010 season. Watt, out for the season after back surgery, had started 83 straight games since being drafted in 2011. Fuller also had 81 yards receiving and a touchdown. Tennessee (1-3) was driving with less than two minutes left, but Marcus Mariota’s pass to former Houston receiver Andre Johnson on fourth down was broken up. The Texans squandered an early 14-point lead and their offense was struggling in the second half when Fuller took the first return of his career for a touchdown to make it 27-20. Fuller, who ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the combine, took the punt and made three Titans miss before running down the sideline for the score. Bears 17, Lions 14: Brian Hoyer threw for 302 yards and two scores, and Chicago (1-3) got a win after starting 0-3 for the second time in two seasons under head coach John Fox. The Bears also stopped a six-game home skid as well as a six-game slide against Detroit (1-3), though things got tight near the end. Chicago was leading 17-6 before Andre Roberts returned a punt 85 yards for a touchdown. Golden Tate then caught a two-point conversion pass from Matthew Stafford to cut it to 17-14 with 1:52 left, but the Bears recovered the onside kick. Hoyer was on target in his second straight start with Jay Cutler nursing a sprained right thumb. Hoyer completed 28 of 36 passes against a defense missing injured Ezekiel Ansah and DeAndre Levy.