Steelers hang on for 23-17 victory over Cardinals
By DAVID BRANDT AP Sports Writer
Diontae Johnson ran for an 85-yard touchdown on a punt return and caught a pass for another score to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals 23-17. Pittsburgh’s defense had three crucial interceptions in the second half to secure its seventh win over the past eight games. Arizona has lost six straight games. Rookie free agent quarterback Devlin Hodges completed 16 of 19 passes and threw a touchdown pass in his third career start. Arizona quarterback Kyler Murray threw two touchdown passes, but his three interceptions were very costly.

Steelers defense leads way in 17-12 win over Rams
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Steelers defense spoiled Aaron Donald’s homecoming and derailed the Los Angeles Rams’ momentum in the process.
The Steelers forced four turnovers — including a 43-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick — in an ugly 17-12 victory on Sunday that pushed their winning streak to four games and dealt the Rams’ chances of chasing down Seattle and San Francisco in the NFC West a serious blow.
Donald, a Pittsburgh native, sacked the Steelers’ Mason Rudolph for a safety in his first appearance in his hometown since the Rams took him in the first round of the 2014 draft.
Linebacker Dante Fowler scored Los Angeles’ lone touchdown on a 26-yard fumble return on the second snap of the game. But the Rams’ offense did little against a Steelers defense that has become the team’s identity after losing Ben Roethlisberger to a season-ending right elbow injury in Week 2.
Jared Goff completed 22 of 40 passes for 243 yards, none of them to leading receiver Cooper Kupp. The Rams (5-4) converted just 1 of 14 third downs and came up empty on a pair of last-gasp drives in the final two minutes. Goff’s fourth-down heave to the end zone intended for Josh Reynolds fell incomplete with 1:25 to go. Los Angeles got the ball back with 59 seconds to play but Goff’s pass to Robert Woods was tipped.
Fitzpatrick ran underneath it for the game-sealing interception and seventh takeaway since the Steelers acquired him from Miami in September for a 2020 first-round pick.
At the moment, it looks like draft capital well spent.
Rudolph completed 22 of 38 passes for 242 yards with a touchdown, stats that would have been considerably better if not for a handful of drops that prevented the Steelers (5-4) from gaining any sort of traction for long stretches.
Rudolph became the ninth quarterback since the 1970 merger to throw a touchdown in each of his first seven games when he found James Washington for a 3-yard score in the first quarter, but the Steelers once again relied on their defense to move over .500 for the first time this season.
The Steelers managed just 15 turnovers in 2018. They have produced 26 through nine games in 2019, helping them stay afloat following a 1-4 start while Rudolph and the offense searches for solid footing.
WHAT THE HEKKER?
Los Angeles coach Sean McVay is known for his innovative thinking, but his aggressiveness nearly cost the Rams in the third quarter. Los Angeles was facing fourth-and-1 at Rams 29 trailing 14-7.
The Rams lined up to punt before fanning out, with Hekker moving up into the shotgun formation. Hekker, who had a 23-yard completion earlier in the season and came in 12 of 20 for 179 yards with a touchdown in his career, was hit as he threw and the pass was picked off by Pittsburgh’s Trey Edmunds, a running back by trade.
The Steelers, however, were unable to take advantage of the great field position. A penalty, a sack and a dropped pass pushed Pittsburgh out of field-goal range.
INJURIES
Rams: Center Brian Allen left in the first quarter with a knee issue and did not return. DB Darious Williams left with an ankle problem.
Steelers: Wide receiver Ryan Switzer left in the fourth quarter with a back injury.
UP NEXT
Rams: Host the Chicago Bears (4-5) next Sunday night.
Steelers: Travel to Cleveland to play the Browns (3-6) on Thursday. Pittsburgh is 7-0-1 in its past eight meetings with Cleveland.
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Steelers overcome slow start, drop winless Dolphins 27-14
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Mason Rudolph heard the boos. They were impossible to miss as the minutes passed, the mistakes piled up and the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves down two scores on Monday night to arguably the worst team in the NFL.
Turnovers. Dropped passes. Penalties. Missed opportunities. For the better part of 30 minutes, it was hard to tell if the Steelers or the Miami Dolphins were the team in the midst of a massive rebuild.
“I would have booed that performance too,” Rudolph said. “Coming out slow and it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers. There’s a standard here and we weren’t meeting it at the time.”
Eventually, however, Rudolph found his footing. Eventually, the Dolphins morphed back into the team playing for a shot at the top pick in the draft. And eventually the Steelers avoided an embarrassing loss that would have effectively ended the competitive portion of their season by rallying for a 27-14 victory.
Rudolph threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns in his first start after getting knocked unconscious earlier this month against Baltimore, and James Conner added 145 yards and a touchdown on the ground as Pittsburgh (3-4) won consecutive games for the first time since ripping off six straight in the middle of last season.
“You dig a big of a whole there in the first half and I was proud of the way we responded,” Rudolph said.
Rudolph stressed he wasn’t worried about the long-term effects of a frightening concussion he suffered against Baltimore on Oct. 6, when he was knocked cold on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Ravens safety Earl Thomas. Still, he looked shaky at best during an ugly opening quarter that saw the Dolphins grab their first two-touchdown lead over any opponent in more than a year.
Pittsburgh’s first possession ended with Rudolph throwing a pick to Xavien Howard — back in the lineup after missing two games with a knee injury — and its second ended with Rudolph misfiring badly on fourth down. Yet he remained upbeat amid the growing pains and eventually things started to click. Rudolph completed 20 of 36 passes, including a 45-yard touchdown to rookie Diontae Johnson late in the second quarter and a 26-yard strike to JuJu Smith-Schuster in the third quarter that put the Steelers firmly in control.
“We needed to get him going early on because all it takes is that one big play for him,” Pittsburgh wide receiver James Washington said. “His mind is going. He’s got that adrenaline going and (once) we started moving the ball down the field running and passing, we were on.”
And the Dolphins (0-7) were not.
Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 190 yards with two touchdowns and two picks, both to Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who orchestrated a trade from Miami to Pittsburgh last month. But a rare hot start couldn’t prevent Miami from staying winless through seven games for the first time since 2011. The Dolphins have dropped 10 straight dating to last season.
“We just have to continue to keep fighting,” Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “That’s just kind of the place that we’re at right now. Just continue to keep fighting, continue to keep going to practice and trying to get better every single day.”
CURIOUS CALL
The Dolphins, in the midst of an exhaustive rebuild under first-year coach Brian Flores — a process that included trading running back Kenyan Drake to Arizona on Monday for a conditional sixth-round pick in next year’s draft just hours before kickoff — showed their first extended signs of life in an already lost season.
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s two touchdown passes gave Miami — a 14-point underdog — a 14-point advantage for the first time since Oct. 7, 2018. The Dolphins couldn’t hold on then, allowing the Bengals storm back for a victory. A year later, not much has changed. The Steelers pulled within 14-10 at the break thanks to the first of Minkah Fitzpatrick’s two interceptions and an odd defensive play call by the Dolphins.
Leading by 11 points and with Pittsburgh facing third-and-20 outside of field goal range, Miami opted to blitz and didn’t bother to guard Johnson, who took a short pass from Rudolph and used a couple of downfield blocks by Washington to weave his way 45 yards to the end zone.
“Wanted to be aggressive,” Flores said. “We can second guess a lot of calls. I’m not going to second guess that one. I thought we had success with the call, and they made a play.”
INJURIES
Dolphins: Howard’s return was brief. He left in the second half after aggravating his knee injury. … CB Ken Webster left with an ankle injury in the first half and did not return.
Steelers: Conner left in the fourth quarter with a shoulder injury. … Ramon Foster (concussion) exited with a concussion in the first half and did not return. … RB Benny Snell left with an ankle injury in the third quarter.
UP NEXT
Dolphins: Welcome the New York Jets (1-6) next Sunday. Miami swept the Jets last season.
Steelers: Host Indianapolis (5-2) next Sunday. Pittsburgh has won each of its last five meetings with the Colts.
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Steelers’ Conner scores 2 TDs, Hodges wins first start
By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer
CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Pittsburgh’s Devlin Hodges walked into the stadium properly attired for his first NFL start. He was wearing a T-shirt with a duck on it that read “I’m The Boss,” befitting his nickname and quiet confidence.
The rookie quarterback directed the Steelers offense like a boss and not a third-string rookie as he led Pittsburgh to a 24-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night.
“I liked his effort. We knew we couldn’t give him a lot of exposure to that defense, so we did some things in other areas,” said coach Mike Tomlin, who nicknamed Hodges “Duck Dynasty” during offseason workouts.
Hodges, who was elevated into the starting spot after Mason Rudolph suffered a concussion last week against Baltimore completed 15 of 20 passes for 132 yards with a touchdown and interception. He benefited from a strong running game and a defense that scored the game’s first touchdown and forced three turnovers.
“It’s nice to get a win in my first start. It’s something I have always dreamed about,” said Hodges, who got the shirt for $5 in Venice Beach on Saturday. “I’ve always had a belief in myself and it’s just amazing.”
It is only the fifth time in 26 games in franchise history that the Steelers have won a road game with a quarterback making his first start.
James Conner had his first game with both a rushing and receiving touchdown and accounted for 119 scrimmage yards (41 rushing, 78 receiving). He suffered a quad injury during the third quarter and did not return.
On defense, Devin Bush recovered a pair of turnovers, including returning a fumble for his first NFL touchdown.
“It was a big win for us on the road in a very fragile state,” Tomlin said. “I think we had a lot of quality efforts tonight from a lot of people.”
The Chargers (2-4) trailed 24-0 after three quarters but rallied to get within seven on a Chase McLaughlin field goal and two TD passes from Philip Rivers to Hunter Henry.
“We dug ourselves in a hole. I still believe in this football team. We dug ourselves in a hole and I believe we’ll dig our way out,” coach Anthony Lynn said.
After Henry’s 11-yard TD catch made it 24-17, Los Angeles tried an onside kick with 1:28 remaining, but it was recovered by Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton. The Chargers forced a three-and-out and got the ball at the 1 after a punt, but Rivers was picked off by Sutton to preserve the Steelers’ win and improve to 2-4.
“It’s pretty tough. I don’t know if we’ve been down by three touchdowns, but we’ve had a comeback like this before,” said Rivers, who was 26 of 44 for 300 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. “It’s tough but our guys believed. You saw we gave ourselves a chance. They pin you down there on the 1 and have to go 99 yards with no timeouts, that’s about as rough as it gets.”
Bush scooped up a backward pass from Rivers that Melvin Gordon was unable to handle and went 9 yards to give the Steelers a 7-0 lead
The rookie got his second turnover four plays later when he intercepted a Rivers’ pass that was deflected by defensive end Tyson Alualu at the line of scrimmage. That would lead to Conner’s first TD, a 12-yard run around left end with 4:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Conner put Pittsburgh up by three touchdowns with 6:34 remaining in the second when he caught a short pass from Hodges and went 26 yards up the right sideline after Chargers linebacker Jatavis Brown was unable to tackle the third-year running back at the 25.
Los Angeles didn’t get on the board until one minute into the fourth quarter on McLaughlin’s 38-yard field goal. Rivers ended the offense’s seven-quarter drought without a touchdown when he found Henry in the back of the end zone from 5 yards out with 7:13 remaining.
HEINZ FIELD WEST?
It felt like a home game for the Steelers as the stadium was dominated by Pittsburgh fans. Hodges said he joked in the huddle on the first drive that he might have to motion for the crowd to quiet down.
The Chargers’ game staff did troll the Steelers fans during the fourth quarter when it started playing Styx’s “Renegade” only to go into a Rickroll with Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”
“That was amazing until they made it a joke. It was cool,” Bush said.
STAT OF NOTE
Pittsburgh came into the game converting only 28.3% of its third downs (15 of 53), but was 8 of 13 on Sunday night.
“We were on schedule. More than anything, we were in manageable third downs,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been working hard to be in manageable third downs and haven’t necessarily done what we did tonight.”
IMMEDIATE FORCE
Bush has been involved in six of the 14 turnovers the Steelers have forced. He has had an interception two straight weeks and leads the NFL with four fumble recoveries. He is the first Steelers’ linebacker to return a fumble for a touchdown since L.J. Fort last season against Atlanta.
STILL IN NEUTRAL
Los Angeles’ running game struggled again as Melvin Gordon and Austin Ekeler were held to 13 carries for 32 yards.
“The run game is tough right now. Austin and I can’t get things rolling,” said Gordon, who is averaging 2.5 yards per carry in the two games since he ended his holdout. “How it’s looking right now, the pass is going to have to open up the run.”
STRONG RETURN
Henry, who missed the past four games due to a knee injury, set career highs in receptions (eight) and yards (100).
“Going into the game I wasn’t planning on playing probably 50-60 snaps,” Henry said. “I was feeling really good, so it’s just kind of how it went.”
INJURIES
Steelers: LB Stephon Tuitt (pectoral), LB T.J. Watt (oblique) and CB Joe Haden (groin) were also injured during the game and did not return.
UP NEXT
Steelers have their bye week before hosting Miami in a Monday night game on Oct. 28.
Chargers travel to Tennessee next Sunday to start a stretch of three of their next four on the road.
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Rudolph exits after scary hit, Ravens edge Steelers in OT
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — After Pittsburgh quarterback Mason Rudolph was knocked unconscious by a head-high hit in the third quarter Sunday, Justin Tucker made a 46-yard field goal in overtime to lift the Baltimore Ravens past the Steelers 26-23 on Sunday.
Baltimore (3-2) snapped a two-game skid when safety Marlon Humphrey stripped Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and recovered the fumble at the Pittsburgh 34. Tucker knocked through the winner four plays later.
Lamar Jackson threw for 161 yards with a touchdown and three picks and also ran for a game-high 70 yards. Mark Ingram ran for a touchdown for the Ravens, who won in Pittsburgh (1-4) for the second straight season.
Rudolph threw for 131 yards and a score before suffering a concussion following a hit to the chin by Baltimore safety Earl Thomas. Backup Devlin Hodges played admirably in Rudolph’s place, throwing for 68 yards and directing a pair of scoring drives after Rudolph’s exit. James Conner ran for 55 yards and a touchdown for Pittsburgh.
Long one of the AFC’s most heated rivalries, the game took a turn in the third quarter with the Ravens leading 17-13.
The Steelers were facing third-and-11 at the Pittsburgh 12 midway through the third quarter when Rudolph dropped back to pass. The play broke down and Rudolph scrambled to his left and stepped up field. He flicked the ball to teammate James Washington just before the crown of Thomas’ helmet hit Rudolph under the chin. Rudolph fell to the ground and lay on the field motionless for several minutes while several teammates became visibly upset as the stadium fell silent.
The scene of players on both sides going down to one knee while a medical team attended to Rudolph was eerily similar to the on-field reaction in Cincinnati in December, 2017 when Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier sustained a spinal injury. Rudolph was able to stand up and be helped off the field by several teammates, a move made necessary when the medical cart wouldn’t start. Shazier, currently on the Physically Unable to Perform list while he continues his rehab from spinal stabilization surgery, walked over to Rudolph and briefly comforted him as Rudolph made his way to the locker room for further treatment and examination as the crowds chanted “throw him out” at Thomas.
Rudolph’s injury thrust Hodges, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Samford, into a role he couldn’t have envisioned when the Steelers signed him to be a “camp” arm before organized team activities. He played well in the preseason but didn’t make the cut only to find himself signed to the practice squad when Pittsburgh traded Josh Dobbs to Jacksonville. Hodges was elevated to backup status when Roethlisberger went down with an elbow injury.
He trotted onto the field when Rudolph ducked out of view and hardly looked nervous, leading the Steelers on a drive that ended with Conner’s 1-yard touchdown run that put the Steelers in front. Baltimore pulled even on Tucker’s field goal. Hodges later used a 21-yard sprint to set up Chris Boswell’s go-ahead field goal with 2:41 remaining. Jackson countered with a drive that ended with Tucker’s third field goal that tied it with 14 seconds remaining.
Pittsburgh won the coin toss to start overtime but curiously opted to kick the ball rather than receive it. The Steelers forced a Baltimore punt, but Humphrey punched the ball out of Smith-Schuster’s hands then pounced on it to put the Ravens in position to win.
INJURIES
Ravens: Safety Tony Jefferson went down in the fourth quarter with a left knee injury.
Steelers: Wide receiver James Washington Barron left in the third quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. Linebacker Mark Barron exited in the second quarter with a hamstring injury.
UP NEXT
Ravens: Hosts AFC North rival Cincinnati next Sunday. The teams split their two meetings in 2018.
Steelers: Visit Los Angeles to face the Chargers next Sunday. Los Angeles beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh 33-30 last season.
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Steelers break out of funk, stomp Bengals 27-3
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers insisted they might have been winless through three weeks, but they were far from hopeless. They stressed the process of finding an identity with franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger out for the season with an elbow injury would take time and a collective effort from all involved.
An effort that looked an awful lot like what they put together during a 27-3 pounding of Cincinnati on Monday night.
Mason Rudolph threw for 229 yards and two scores. Running back, part-time wide receiver and occasional wildcat quarterback Jaylen Samuels accounted for 134 yards of total offense and a 2-yard touchdown run. James Conner emerged from an early funk to run for 42 yards and catch eight passes for 83 yards and a score. The defense sacked Andy Dalton eight times and held the Bengals scoreless over the final 51 minutes.
It wasn’t perfect. But it was a start. One that helped the Steelers (1-3) avoid their second 0-4 start in 51 years and reaffirmed their belief that they can find a way forward without Roethlisberger.
“It’s huge,” Samuels said. “Coming in 0-3 and coming back, getting a divisional game, that’s huge. We’ve just got to build off this game.”
With Pittsburgh’s running game going nowhere through three weeks, running backs coach Eddie Faulkner suggested to offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner that it might be time to dust off the wildcat. Samuels ran it frequently during his college career at N.C. State, and the Bengals (0-4) certainly looked caught off guard when Samuels lined up in the shotgun and started distributing the ball like a point guard. Sometimes he’d hand it off to Conner. Others he’d “throw” a “pop” pass to a teammate running in motion in front of him. Still others he opted to keep it himself, including on his third-quarter touchdown in which he strolled into the end zone after the Bengals bit on a fake handoff.
“We knew if we could get a lot of guys going sideways, it was going to mess them up a little bit so that’s what we did,” Samuels said. “It was working. … We were picking up five, six yards every play. They couldn’t stop it.”
Samuels ran for 26 yards on 10 carries, caught eight passes for 57 more and was credited with three completions for 31 yards. Conner had 14 touches for 125 yards in all, including a 21-yard sprint through the Cincinnati defense in the second quarter that gave the Steelers a lead they never came close to squandering while beating the Bengals for the ninth straight time.
WOE AND 4
Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor became the second first-year coach to drop his first four games with the Bengals. Sam Wyche started 0-5 in 1984 but helped his team rebound to an 8-8 finish. Taylor’s task of getting Cincinnati back to respectability will be far harder if he can’t figure out a way to protect Dalton.
“To be quite honest, it starts with me,” Taylor said. “I’ve got to make sure the standard is higher than what it is right now, because I haven’t done a good enough job.”
The eight sacks Dalton endured were a career-high for the nine-year veteran, who also threw an end zone interception in the fourth quarter and was strip-sacked by Pittsburgh’s outside linebacker Bud Dupree in the second quarter. T.J. Watt fell on the ball and the Steelers were off and running. Dalton finished 21 of 37 for 171 yards, stressing he felt “fine” physically and that he’s not panicking.
“Everybody is going to stick together,” Dalton said. “We have from the beginning, regardless of the circumstances of these games, we’ve stuck together. And so I don’t expect that to change.”
Tyler Boyd, elevated to the No. 1 receiver while A.J. Green recovers from ankle surgery, was held to three receptions for 33 yards on the same field where he starred in college at Pitt.
“Personally I hate being embarrassed,” Boyd said. “At the end of the day, I can take the losing. But when you go out there and get embarrassed, Monday night, prime time . I got too much pride to go out there and showcase what we showcased. It was just awful overall.”
RUDOLPH ROLLS
Rudolph was uneven at best in his first career start last week in San Francisco after being thrust into the gig for the rest of the season while Roethlisberger rehabs from elbow surgery. Rudolph was considerably sharper against Cincinnati, though he wasn’t asked to do much other than find the closest open man —usually Conner or Samuels — and keep the sticks moving. He completed 24 of 28 passes, the only deep shot a 43-yard strike to Diontae Johnson in the third quarter that broke it open.
“Our message all week was stack one (win) and then start stacking more,” said Rudolph, who was awarded the game ball by head coach Mike Tomlin.
INJURIES
Bengals: WR John Ross III left in the third quarter with a right-shoulder injury. … LT Cordy Glenn missed his fourth straight game while recovering from a concussion and Cincinnati’s protection problems continued. The Bengals have now surrendered 19 sacks through four games.
Steelers: TE Vance McDonald sat out with a right shoulder injury. Nick Vannett, acquired in a trade with Seattle last week, started and caught two passes for 28 yards.
UP NEXT
Bengals: Host Arizona next Sunday. The Cardinals won the last meeting, 34-31, in 2015.
Steelers: Welcome AFC North rival Baltimore to Pittsburgh on Sunday. The teams split the season series last year, both winning at home.
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Wilson, Seahawks edge Steelers 28-26 as Roethlisberger exits
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The faces around Russell Wilson have changed as the Seattle Seahawks rebuild themselves on the fly. One thing, however, has not. Seattle goes as its ever imaginative quarterback goes.
And in the second half in a place where the franchise hadn’t scored let alone won in two decades, Wilson’s resilience propelled the Seahawks to their best start in six years.
Wilson threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns to give the Seahawks the lead, then used his legs and smarts to protect it in a 28-26 victory that pushed Seattle to 2-0 for the first time since 2013, the year Wilson guided the franchise to its only Super Bowl victory.
Sure, it’s early. Yet the Seahawks proved both opportunistic and aggressive, hallmarks of their dominant run behind Wilson and the “Legion of Doom” defense earlier in the decade.
“Really fired up about this start,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said after picking up his 100th victory with the Seahawks, including playoffs. “We have so much improvement. We have so many areas and ways we can get better.”
Having Wilson certainly helps. His perfect 28-yard rainbow to rookie DK Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter put the Seahawks in front by nine, and three expertly timed scrambles on Seattle’s final drive helped drain the final 5:34 off the clock.
“We were battle tested today and we found a way to win a great game,” said Wilson, who completed 29 of 35 passes while becoming the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 200 career touchdown tosses.
ROETHLISBERGER EXITS
The Steelers fell to 0-2 for just the second time in Mike Tomlin’s 13-year tenure and could be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger indefinitely. The 37-year-old watched the second half from the sideline in a baseball cap following a right elbow issue that popped up late in the second quarter when he grimaced several times after releasing passes.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin said he had no initial details on the nature of Roethlisberger’s injury and refused to blame Pittsburgh’s performance on Roethlisberger’s absence.
“We lost a number of guys in this game, but that wasn’t the reason we didn’t win the game,” Tomlin said.
Backup Mason Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, but couldn’t quite keep pace with Wilson and the Seahawks.
“I am completely confident in myself, being a leader of a team, and playing games,” Rudolph said. “That’s what it all comes down to. If (Roethlisberger is out a while), I’m ready to roll.”
SHARPER SEATTLE
A week after escaping Cincinnati with a one-point win, a game in which Carroll said his team wasn’t particularly crisp, the Seahawks took advantage of a series of mental mistakes by the Steelers to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in 20 years.
Wilson’s first touchdown pass to Will Dissly — a 14-yarder in the second quarter — came after Steelers defensive tackle Dan McCullers was called for a personal foul on a field goal attempt by Seattle. The Seahawks took the first down instead of the points, and on the next snap Wilson hit a soaring Dissly for the score.
Seattle went in front early in the second half when a pass from Rudolph to Donte Moncrief went through the receiver’s hands, smacked off his facemask and landed in the arms of Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald. Wilson found Dissly again for a 12-yard score seven plays later.
“It shows our guys we can do it, we can go cross country in the morning and play good football,” Carroll said. “They did a fantastic job.”
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
Pittsburgh trailed by two in the fourth quarter and appeared to have momentum with the Seahawks facing a third-and-20. Wilson threw a jump ball for Tyler Lockett and the pass fell incomplete. But Carroll challenged the play, claiming Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds interfered with Lockett. The 38-yard penalty was enforced after review. Three plays later, Wilson placed the ball perfectly into Metcalfe’s outstretched hands while Edmunds gave chase.
“Regardless of how I think about the play, they made the call,” Edmunds said. “So I’ve just got to live with that. Got to live with that they made the call. I’ve got to make the play down there in the end zone.”
READY TO RUN?
After managing just 32 yards on the ground in a Week 1 loss to New England, Pittsburgh managed 81 but 23 came on a burst by Benny Snell and 7 on a scramble by Rudolph. James Conner had just 33 yards on 11 carries, including 12 yards on seven carries in the first quarter.
“We can’t keep drives going,” guard David DeCastro said. “We’ve got to start faster in these games. You don’t start fast, you don’t have a chance to run the ball. Other teams get control.”
INJURIES
Seahawks: RG D.J. Fluker left in the second quarter with an ankle injury, but returned in the second half.
Steelers: Roethlisberger, Conner (knee), ILB Vince Williams (hamstring), Conner (knee) and LB Anthony Chickillo (plantar fasciitis) all exited.
UP NEXT
Seahawks: Host New Orleans next Sunday. Seattle has won the last three home meetings with Saints.
Steelers: Head west to face San Francisco next Sunday. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten the 49ers on the road since 1999.
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Big Ben makes preseason debut, Steelers beat Titans 18-6
By TERESA M. WALKER AP Pro Football Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger needed three short series to show he’s ready for the regular season, even though he wasn’t happy the Steelers didn’t score earlier.
The Tennessee Titans made it very clear protecting Marcus Mariota on a wet and ugly night was their top priority.
Roethlisberger capped his night with a 17-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster, and the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Titans 18-6 Sunday night to remain perfect this preseason.
“I wasn’t as crisp as I would’ve liked to have been, but I think we got enough accomplished,” Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers (3-0) came up with four of seven sacks by halftime and had a turnover as they pummeled all three quarterbacks for the Titans (1-2). Six different Steelers had at least a sack apiece.
Roethlisberger made his preseason debut and was a bit rusty with two short series. After Stephon Tuitt sacked Mariota in the end zone for a safety, Roethlisberger then drove the Steelers 48 yards after the free kick and finished with the TD pass to Smith-Schuster.
He nearly gave the Steelers a 10-0 lead but Jaylen Samuels fell down after catching the pass on a 2-point conversion attempt. Roethlisberger spent the rest of the night watching and was 8 of 13 for 63 yards passing. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin was content with what he got out of Roethlisberger and the rest of his Steelers in their first road trip this preseason.
“Although it wasn’t a complete body of work, we were able to get them some situational ball and watch them execute and do some things there, so a good night in that regard,” Tomlin said.
A night after Andrew Luck retired, the Titans played safe with their starting quarterback and pulled Mariota after he was sacked for the safety on his second series. Mariota was 0 of 3, including an uncharacteristic drop by veteran Adam Humphries. That proved a smart move with backup Ryan Tannehill sacked on his third play.
“We’re going to make sure we can protect our quarterback, and that’s important,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “And it’s imperative that we do that as a staff and we do that as an offensive group.”
Pittsburgh is still trying to figure out Roethlisberger’s backup, and Mason Rudolph helped himself with a 41-yard TD pass to James Washington on his first throw of the game. That put the Steelers up 15-0 after the first quarter with a 159-25 edge in total offense. Rudolph finished the first half and was 6 of 9 for 75 yards.
Joshua Dobbs took over in the third quarter and didn’t get much help. One receiver was out of bounds after pushing off for offensive pass interference, and the Steelers needed review to show Trey Griffey did have control and both feet down on a catch after Dobbs scrambled to find him for a 23-yard catch. That set up a 31-yard field goal by rookie Matthew Wright.
The Titans intercepted both Rudolph and Dobbs, who was 4 of 9 for 79 yards.
TWO-SACK QUARTER
Tuitt not only got a sack and the ball back for the Steelers, the veteran going into his sixth season had two in the first quarter taking both of the Titans’ top two quarterbacks down. Tuitt smothered Mariota in the end zone for the safety, then got to Tannehill on the third play of his first series. Tuitt is coming off a career-high 5 1/2 sacks last season.
“We’re expecting big things from him,” Tomlin said. “He’s expecting big things from him. He’s had a good preseason both in stadiums and out, so that was not unlike what we’ve been looking at from him.”
SUCCOP’S RETURN
The best part of the game for Tennessee was veteran Brett Kern’s punting with a 70-yarder along with kicker Ryan Succop’s preseason debut. Succop had offseason knee surgery and wasn’t cleared from the physically unable to perform list until Monday. He kicked a pair of field goals for the Titans’ only points.
BAD MEMORIES
The Titans gave up sacks so early and often that the game started feeling like last October when Baltimore set a franchise-record with 11 sacks. Right tackle Jack Conklin said the Titans didn’t come out strong and fast in the showcase game of the preseason.
“We can’t have our quarterback getting hit,” Conklin said. “He shouldn’t have been touched nearly as many times as he did. It’s definitely things we can get fixed.”
UP NEXT
Steelers: Visit Carolina on Thursday night.
Titans: Visit Chicago on Thursday night.
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(This story has been updated to edit the punctuation on Titans coach Mike Vrabel’s quote on protecting quarterbacks.)
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Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker
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Steelers honor Drake, keep Chiefs in check in 17-7 victory
By WILL GRAVES AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The shirts read “shut out the noise.” Shutting out the pain of suddenly losing the man behind the mantra will take far longer for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Still, there was something about the game-day routine that brought a sense of relief and normalcy just six days removed from the death of wide receivers coach Darryl Drake.
The receivers walked out to pregame warmups wearing gear with “shut out the noise” emblazoned on them, the phrase Drake adopted for his group heading into the 2019 season.
The Steelers took the field with “DD” stickers on their helmets, stickers that will remain there all season. Players gathered on the sideline to kneel in prayer. A moment of silence was held just before the national anthem.
Then the ball was kicked off and Pittsburgh went back to work, keeping Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in check in a 17-7 victory on Saturday night.
“It’s just been a very difficult week,” said Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, who attended Drake’s funeral in Tennessee along with general manager Kevin Colbert early Saturday before returning in time to lead his team to its second preseason victory in as many weeks. “If anything the game is kind of a break from that. You get lost in the things that you need to do.”
And what the Steelers (2-0) need to do over the next two weeks is figure out who will be the backup to starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. So far, Tomlin has seen little separation between Josh Dobbs and Mason Rudolph.
Rudolph guided a long first-half touchdown drive and finished 10 of 15 for 77 yards while Dobbs completed 6 of 11 for 95 yards with a red-zone interception on a night the Steelers (2-0) opted to keep several key starters on the sideline, from Roethlisberger to Pro Bowl offensive linemen David DeCastro and Maurkice Pouncey to rookie linebacker Devin Bush, who was held out because of a shoulder issue.
Asked if Rudolph, is ahead of Dobbs, Tomlin shook his head.
“Not as we sit here right now,” Tomlin said.
Not that any of it matters when Week 1 rolls around. Roethlisberger is firmly entrenched as the starter for 15 years and counting. The same is true in Kansas City, where Mahomes is coming off an MVP season.
Unlike Roethlisberger, Mahomes hasn’t yet earned the right to take most of the preseason off. The third-year pro completed just 2 of 5 passes for 11 yards in two series, a far cry from his previous visit to Heinz Field, when he threw for six touchdowns in a Week 2 win last September that served as a harbinger of the season to come.
“Yeah, that’ll all get worked out,” Reid said when asked about Mahomes’ performance. “Everyone can’t be perfect.”
Mahomes’ best play during his cameo may have been his decision to slide during an 8-yard scramble, something he didn’t do a week ago when he lowered his shoulder against Cincinnati rather than step out of bounds.
Chad Henne found Mecole Hardman for a 17-yard touchdown late in the first half for Kansas City (1-1), which managed a lone touchdown a week after putting up 38 against the Bengals. Hardman, a second-round pick, has two touchdowns in two weeks and his rapid emergence could give Reid another option to play with in what could be the NFL’s most potent offense.
Rudolph, a third-round pick a year ago who is hoping to supplant Dobbs as the top backup, was given the start instead. Playing with a group that included Pro Bowl running back James Conner and star wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, Rudolph struggled early to gain some momentum.
It wasn’t until Rudolph found himself playing with the reserves that he started to get going. He directed a 14-play, 89-yard drive in the second quarter, a series that ended with a 14-yard sprint to the end zone by Jaylen Samuels.
Dobbs started off brilliantly, hitting James Washington for a 40-yard gain. He couldn’t sustain the momentum, thanks in part to an interception in which he overthrew Diontae Johnson. The ball sailed into the arms of Kansas City’s Charvarius Ward to cut short a scoring chance late in the first half.
Johnson, a third-round pick, ended up scoring in the fourth quarter when he made a diving grab in the end zone on a heave from fourth-stringer Devlin Hodges, a catch that would have drawn a nod of approval from Drake.
“It was emotional for the receiver group,” Johnson said. “We all know what Coach Drake did for us as a whole group. We know he is with us each and every day. We’re just dedicating this season for him.”
THIS BUD’S FOR YOU?
Steelers outside linebacker Bud Dupree is entering the season with a significant amount of pressure after Pittsburgh opted to pick up his fifth-year option, but have not approached him about signing a long-term deal. Dupree provided a spark, sacking Mahomes and Henne and knocking down a pass.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Chiefs: S Tyrann Mathieu (shoulder), WR Deon Yelder (knee), WR Marcus Kemp (knee) and LB Breeland Speaks (knee) all left and did not return. Reid said Kemp’s injury appeared to be the most serious.
Steelers: RB Benny Snell Jr. (groin) and LB Anthony Chickillo (knee) left. OLB Ola Adeniyi was held out with an undisclosed injury.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: Host San Francisco next Saturday.
Steelers: Expect to give Roethlisberger his only reps of the preseason next Sunday when they visit Tennessee.
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