Roethlisberger throws 4 TDs in Steelers’ win
PITTSBURGH — The bumblebee uniforms are going out on a high note.
The Steelers defeated the New York Jets 31-13 Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field in the final game dawning their throwback jerseys. The defense held the Jets scoreless in the second half and Ben Roethlisberger connected on a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to improve the Steelers’ record to 8-1 over the Jets (1-4) in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers had four starters out due to injury, but were able hold it together to improve to 4-1 for just the fourth time under coach Mike Tomlin.
“It was a total team effort,” Tomlin said. “We’re going to face adversity like this. Like I said at the top of the week, it was going to be one of those weeks that kind of defined us if we addressed some of the natural adversity the game of football presents.
“We did the job this week.”
Roethlisberger finished 34 of 47 for 380 yards and four touchdowns. He found Sammie Coates for a game-high 139 yards and two scores on six receptions, including a 72-yard touchdown on a streak down the right sideline on the Steelers’ first possession.
“It gets you going,” Roethlisberger said of the first touchdown’s impact. “I think it gets our defense going. It makes you feel good, but you have to follow it up. We want to try and do that every series.”
It was the sixth reception of 40-yards or more for Coates this season.
The Steelers defense held the Jets to two field goals on their first two drives before Brandon Marshall caught a tipped pass over Ross Cockrell for a 15-yard touchdown with 2:06 left in the second quarter. The touchdown grab capped off a seven-play, 69-yard drive.
“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way, and it was definitely a drop though.” Cockrell said. “No excuse, I’ve got to make that play.”
On the ensuing possession, Roethlisberger drove 75 yards in 11 plays and found Jesse James for a 1-yard score right before halftime. The touchdown came with 41 seconds left as the Steelers ran just 1:25 off the clock on the drive to make it a 14-13.
“I’m glad we went in there and we put up some points before the half because we knew we were getting it back,” Le’Veon Bell said. “I think in the second half, we came out slow again and they kind of stopped us and we had to go make a couple plays to get back in our groove.”
Chris Boswell added a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter in the Steelers’ only points of the frame. The defense forced the Jets to punt on all three of their third-quarter drives, with two ending in three-and-outs.
“I felt like we had a rhythm for what they were doing, so there was no reason for them to score,” Mike Mitchell said. “We established what they were doing.”
Roethlisberger’s two fourth-quarter scores went to Coates and Antonio Brown. Brown’s was from eight yards out mid-way thru the quarter, and Coates’ was on a 5-yard crossing route with 1:46 left in the game.
“We were all on,” Roethlisberger said. “We got the ball with seven-something on that last drive. I told the guys coming into the huddle, “This is our milk. Let’s take it down the field. Let’s use up the slack and let’s score on top of it.'”
Bell finished with 154 all-purpose yards and was second on the team in receiving behind Coates with 11 catches for 88 yards. The Steelers compiled 436 yards of total offense, with 220 coming in the second half.
Vince Williams finished with nine tackles, the second consecutive game he has led the defense in that category. Williams has 25 total tackles over his past two games filling in for Ryan Shazier. Despite not intercepting the NFL’s leader in picks, the defense sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick three times and limited New York to 2 for 11 on third down.
“We’re just playing off of each other,” Williams said. “We have a great team continuity here. Our offense is going to put up points, and we’re going to go out there and give them the ball back as much as we can. When you have all three phases of the game working like that, it’s going to produce wins.”
Holding sole possession of first place in the AFC North, the Steelers look next to a road contest against the Miami Dolphins on Oct. 16.