Roethlisberger throws for 4 TDs against Jets
Steelers tight end Jesse James celebrates scoring on a 1-yard touchdown reception in the final minute of the second quarter Sunday at Heinz Field.
Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates celebrates after scoring on a 72-yard pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter Sunday at Heinz Field. New York Jets cornerback Marcus Williams was defending on the play.
Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates eludes the grasp of Jets cornerback Darryl Roberts Sunday at Heinz Field. Coates finished with six catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is hit by Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons after throwing a pass Sunday at Heinz Field.
Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons and Vince Williams and an undidentified defender tackle Jets tighet end Brandon Bostick.
PITTSBURGH – When Ben Roethlisberger finally hangs up his cleats, perhaps he can take a job with air traffic control at Pittsburgh International Airport.
Nobody in Pittsburgh handles moving objects through the air better.
Roethlisberger threw for four more touchdowns and 380 yards as the Steelers grounded the New York Jets, 31-13, Sunday at Heinz Field.
The four touchdown passes – with no interceptions – give Roethlisberger 12 touchdown passes and 939 yards in three home games this season as the Steelers improved to 4-1. Coupled with Baltimore’s loss to Washington Sunday, the Steelers are atop the AFC North standings.
Not bad for a team that continues to be beset by injuries.
“(It was a) challenging week for us dealing with some personnel things,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “(I) have to recognize guys like (Chris) Hubbard, who stepped up and started at right tackle for us and did an excellent job. (Jordan) Dangerfield at safety again, played in the face of adversity.”
The Steelers lost another key starter in the first half when defensive lineman Cameron Heyward suffered a hamstring injury and did not return.
All the defense did was pitch a shutout in the second half, allowing the offense to pull away from the Jets (1-4).
“Nobody on this team believes they are a backup,” said inside linebacker Vince Williams, who had a team-high nine tackles and one of the three sacks while subbing for injured Ryan Shazier. “Everybody just believes they are waiting for their opportunity to put their hand in the pile and help this team win football games.”
For a brief period in the first half, that seemed in question.
The Steelers took a quick 7-3 lead on their first offensive possession as Roethlisberger connected on a 72-yard bomb with Sammie Coates.
The Jets cut the lead to 7-6 on the second of two Nick Folk field goals early in the second quarter and the Steelers provided New York with some momentum when punter Jordan Berry was stopped for a three-yard loss by former California University safety Rontez Miles on a fake field goal with six minutes remaining in the half.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, who completed 25 of 38 passes for 255 yards, quickly moved the Jets into scoring range and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Marshall on a ball that skipped through the hands of Steelers cornerback Ross Cockrell and into the air, where it was snagged by Marshall.
“That was a drop on my part,” said Cockrell, who was perfectly positioned in front of Marshall. “You either make that play or they make that play in the NFL.”
Down 13-7, the Steelers got the ball back with 2:06 remaining and Roethlisberger completed passes to five different receivers, including a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Jesse James to give the Steelers a 14-13 lead just before the half.
“I’m glad we went in there and put up some points before the half because we knew we were getting it back,” said Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, who caught a career-high nine passes for 88 yards and ran for 66.
As things turned out, it didn’t matter the Steelers got the ball to open the second half. They didn’t need to score again, as the defense allowed the Jets just two first downs in the final two quarters.
“We’ve got a lot of guys playing, a lot of moving parts,” said linebacker Jarvis Jones, who shut down one Jets drive with a pass breakup on second down and a tackle for no gain on third-and-2.
“But guys are getting opportunities and that’s going to make us that much better down the road. … We played big on defense. Guys played well and we got the win.”
The Steelers added a 47-yard Chris Boswell field goal in the third quarter before Roethlisberger finished the Jets off with a 5-yard TD pass to Antonio Brown on the first play of the quarter and another 5-yard TD pass to Coates just after the two-minute warning.
“We were in the game until the fourth quarter,” said former Steelers defensive tackle Steve McLendon, who signed as a free agent with the Jets in the offeseason. “We just have to finish. … We have to fight a little harder.”
Coates finished with six catches for 139 yards and the first two touchdowns of his career but also had at least three dropped passes and failed to haul in two others that could have been caught. He suffered a cut between two fingers on his left hand in first half.
After one drop in the third quarter, Roethlisberger pulled the second-year receiver aside, telling him, “You gotta keep going, I’m going to keep trusting you, so you’ve got to make plays.”
Odds and end zones
Brown had a 33-yard punt return in the third quarter to set up Boswell’s field goal. … Roethlisberger is now 20-1 in home games in October. … Brown finished with nine catches for 78 yards and went over 7,500 receiving yards in his career. He is the 10th active player with at least 7,500 yards receiving. … In addition to Heyward, safety Shamarko Thomas (groin) left the game early. … Miles finished with six tackles for the Jets to tie for the third-most on the team.