Pittsburgh Steelers stage second-half rally to tame Denver Broncos
Monday 21 December 2015 07:48, UK
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns as the Pittsburgh Steelers erased a 17-point deficit to beat the Denver Broncos 34-27 on Sunday.
Roethlisberger hit Antonio Brown - who had 16 receptions for 189 yards and two touchdowns - with a game-winning strike with 3:24 remaining to break a 27-27 tie and give the Steelers (9-5) their fifth win in six games.
The victory, which was Pittsburgh's 10th in a row in the month of December, kept the Steelers in the sixth and final wild-card spot in the AFC play-offs, just ahead of the New York Jets (also 9-5) with two games remaining.
Roethlisberger completed 40 of 55 against the NFL's No 1 defence in points per game (17.3) and total yards allowed (272.3). The Broncos had two interceptions, including a pick by linebacker Brandon Marshall with 2:08 left.
The Broncos were unable to take advantage of the turnover as quarterback Brock Osweiler threw four straight incomplete passes, giving the ball back to the Steelers on downs with 1:40 remaining.
Roethlisberger has averaged 365.8 yards passing over the last six games with 13 touchdowns. Brown has 64 catches for 868 yards in that same span.
Osweiler, subbing for injured Peyton Manning for the fifth straight game, threw three touchdowns passes and ran for another as the Broncos built a 27-10 lead in the second quarter.
However, Denver (10-4) failed to score in the second half and lost a second straight game to see their lead in the AFC West over the Chiefs trimmed to one game.
Osweiler completed 21 of 44 passes for 296 yards and was intercepted once. In the second half, though, he was seven of 26 for just 82 yards as the Broncos surrendered their 17-point advantage.
Former Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders had 10 receptions for 181 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos, but nine of the catches came in the first half for 139 yards. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had two touchdown catches.
