Monday 26 November 2018 11:57, UK
Nose tackle Shelby Harris intercepted Ben Roethlisberger in the endzone with a minute left to see the Denver Broncos hold on to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-17 on Sunday.
Case Keenum passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns, rookie Phillip Lindsay had 110 yards rushing and a score and Emmanuel Sanders seven catches for 86 yards and a TD to see Denver (5-6) stay alive in the AFC playoff race. Defeat for the Steelers (7-3-1), meanwhile, brings to an end their six-game win streak.
Ben Roethlisberger threw a staggering 56 times for the Steelers, completing 41 of them for 462 yards passing and one touchdown. But, he also threw two costly interceptions, including the one late on as the Steelers tried to tie the game.
It was a game full of miscues for Pittsburgh, who also had a first-quarter field goal blocked, and lost two fumbles - Xavier Grimble had the ball knocked out at the goal line when he looked certain to score a second-quarter touchdown, and James Conner lost the ball in the fourth to set up what proved to be Denver's game-winning drive.
The turnover led to an 11-play, 79-yard drive from Denver, capped by a two-yard rushing touchdown from Lindsay. The Broncos also scored points off of Roethlisberger's first interception, with quarterback Case Keenum hitting Sanders on back-to-back passing plays, including a five-yard score to tie the game at 17-17.
With the game all square at 10-10 at half-time, Denver had trailed following a stunning 97-yard scoring strike from Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster, who had a big night hauling in 13 catches for 189 yards, including that catch and run for a TD.
The teams had traded field goals early on in the game, with the exception of Pittsburgh's blocked effort, before the Broncos took the lead courtesy of a 10-yard pass from Keenum to Matt LaCosse. But, the Steelers hit back in style on the stroke of half-time, with Chris Boswell finding Alejandro Villanueva in the endzone on a fake field goal for a touchdown.
The Steelers then started the second half the stronger, taking the lead on that Roethlisberger to Smith-Schuster connection, but further miscues ultimately meant they came away from their trip to Denver empty-handed.
FIRST QUARTER
Steelers 0-3 Broncos: Brandon McManus 41-yard field goal
SECOND QUARTER
Steelers 3-3 Broncos: Chris Boswell 41-yard field goal
Steelers 3-10 Broncos: Case Keenum 10-yard touchdown pass to Matt LaCosse (McManus extra point good)
Steelers 10-10 Broncos: Boswell two-yard touchdown pass to Alejandro Villanueva (Boswell extra point good)
THIRD QUARTER
Steelers 17-10 Broncos: Ben Roethlisberger 97-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Smith-Schuster (Boswell extra point good)
Steelers 17-17 Broncos: Case Keenum five-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders (McManus extra point good)
FOURTH QUARTER
Steelers 17-24 Broncos: Phillip Lindsay two-yard touchdown run (McManus extra point good)
Dolphins 24-27 Colts
Andrew Luck threw three touchdown passes and Adam Vinatieri kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired as Indianapolis (6-5) beat Miami (5-6) to record a fifth consecutive victory.
Cardinals 10-45 Chargers
Philip Rivers tied the NFL record for consecutive completions and set marks for the most to start a game and the highest completion percentage in a game as the Chargers (8-3) routed the Cardinals (2-9).
Rivers completed his first 25 passes and ultimately finished 28 of 29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of action before being rested for the fourth.
