Records fall as Steelers outlast Falcons
Associated Press Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown evades the tackle of Falcons safety Dezmen Southward during the second half of Sunday’s game in Atlanta.
Atlanta Falcons Roddy White, left, and Ryan Schraeder walk off the field while Steelers cornerback William Gay, second from right,celebrates after intercepting a Matt Ryan pass and returning it for a first-quarter touchdown.
Associated Press Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger celebrates with guard David DeCastro after knocking off the Falcons 27-20 Sunday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Associated Press Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is hit by Steelers linebacker Jason Worilds during the second quarter Sunday.
ATLANTA – On a day in which Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell each set significant single-season Steelers records, it was another team record that fell that made the difference for Pittsburgh.
Cornerback William Gay intercepted a pass early in the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown – his team-record third interception return for a score this season. Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell each had big days as the Steelers picked up a critical victory in the final road game of the regular season by beating the Atlanta Falcons, 27-20.
The victory moved the Steelers to 9-5, allowing them to keep pace with Cincinnati (9-4-1) and Baltimore (9-5) in the AFC North.
“I’m just glad we got the win. That was a big win against a division leader,” said Gay of the Falcons, who fall to 5-9 and a half game behind New Orleans, which plays at Chicago tonight, in the NFC South.
It was a win that might not have occurred if not for Gay making a play that resulted in the game’s lone turnover.
As has happened on several occasions this season, the Steelers dominated the first quarter, outgaining the Falcons 132-36 in total yards, but led just 6-0 after a pair of long drives resulted in Shaun Suisham field goals.
But after a 43-yard return by Devin Hester to the Atlanta 38 following the second of Suisham’s 38-yard field goals, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw a pass toward Harry Douglas – starting in place of injured Julio Jones – over the middle.
The pass never reached Douglas, as Gay undercut the route at the Pittsburgh 48, cut to the outside, then darted back toward the middle of the field on his way to a 52-yard score that put the Steelers ahead 13-0.
“It was huge,” said Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons. “That was the story of the game. That got our energy up, too. I felt it from that point on; it was nothing that could stop us.”
Atlanta finally got into the end zone – with the help of a questionable roughing the passer penalty called against Jason Worilds – when Ryan connected on a 17-yard TD pass to Hester, but the Steelers answered with a long scoring drive of their own in the final three minutes of the half to take a 20-7 lead.
Roethlisberger, who threw for 360 yards to push his season total to a team-record 4,415, hit the big play on the drive with a 28-yard pass to Brown to the Atlanta 1:37 remaining.
The catch by Brown was one of 10 receptions for 123 yards that pushed his season total for catches to 115. That’s three better than the previous record of 112 by Hines Ward. It was originally ruled an incompletion but an official review showed he tapped both feet in bounds before going out.
“Antonio is the best in the world at that; we see it every day,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
That set up a 1-yard TD run by Bell, the first of two rushing touchdowns by him on a day when he was held to 47 yards on 20 carries.
Bell also had 72 yards on five receptions, giving him 119 total yards. That raised his season total to 2,043, breaking Barry Foster’s team record by nine yards.
“They did a nice job neutralizing our run game, although we were able to run it in significant moments,” said Tomlin. “In the short-yardage and goal-line, we were efficient in that area.”
And the defense was efficient in not allowing the Falcons to score in the red zone.
Though Atlanta twice drove deep into Pittsburgh territory in the third quarter, the Falcons settled for field goals of 28 and 22 yards as the Steelers’ defense came up with big stops.
“Even though they got down there, we didn’t want to give up points,” said Heyward. “It was like taking four off each time. It really goes a long way.”
It did in this game, as the Steelers got a 13-yard TD run from Bell early in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to 27-13. After Atlanta got a 4-yard TD pass from Ryan to Roddy White with 10:21 remaining in the game, the Steelers did enough to finish it.
Leading 27-20, Pittsburgh sandwiched a three-and-out by the Falcons with a pair of four-minute drives to eat up the remaining time.
“That was a tough-fought game,” said Tomlin. “It took efforts in all three phases working together, offensively, defensively and kicking. But it wasn’t an easy undertaking by any stretch.”
Odds and end zones
Right tackle Marcus Gilbert was a late scratch for the Steelers so Mike Adams made his third consecutive start. … The Falcons outgained the Steelers, 407-398. … Gay led the Steelers with eight tackles and also had two pass defenses. … Pittsburgh finished the regular season 5-3 on the road. The Steelers were 3-5 on the road the past two seasons. … Roethlisberger is now one of just six quarterbacks in NFL history to own a win against 31 or more teams. He had been 0-1 against Atlanta.