Charlotte, NC (SportsNetwork.com) – Ben Roethlisberger threw two second-half
touchdown passes to Antonio Brown as the Pittsburgh Steelers downed the
Carolina Panthers 37-19 on Sunday night.
Le’Veon Bell had a career-high 147 yards on 21 carries and LeGarrette Blount
ran 10 times for 118 yards and a touchdown, giving the Steelers (2-1) two
100-yard rushers in a game for the first time since 1986.
Roethlisberger was 22-of-30 for 196 yards, while Brown finished with 90 yards
on 10 receptions.
Pittsburgh, however, did lose cornerback Ike Taylor to a broken right forearm.
Cam Newton completed 24-of-35 passes for 250 yards and a touchdown, but
fumbled on Carolina’s opening drive of the third quarter.
The Panthers (2-1) had won eight consecutive regular-season games at home.
Already thin at running back with DeAngelo Williams (thigh) inactive for the
second straight week, Carolina’s Jonathan Stewart suffered a right knee
contusion.
The Steelers forced their first turnover of the season when Jarvis Jones
caused the Newton fumble. Jason Worilds recovered at the Carolina 17-yard
line, and Pittsburgh extended its lead to 16-3 when Roethlisberger found Brown
in the back right corner of the end zone for a 7-yard touchdown.
Carolina’s next drive ate up almost nine minutes, but only resulted in a 40-
yard Graham Gano field goal.
An offensive pass interference penalty pinned Pittsburgh deep in its own
territory on the ensuing possession. Bell, however, ripped off an 81-yard run
on 2nd-and-22 from the 8-yard line. The huge gain set up another 7-yard
scoring strike from Roethlisberger to Brown.
Newton trimmed the deficit to 23-13 with a 37-yard touchdown pass to Greg
Olsen early in the fourth quarter, but a special teams mistake enabled
Pittsburgh to steal back the momentum.
After forcing a three-and-out, Philly Brown muffed the punt and then fumbled.
The ball wound up going into the end zone, where Robert Golden pounced on it
for a touchdown, extending the Steelers’ lead to 30-13.
Blount had a 50-yard run on the next Pittsburgh drive, which began at the 2-
yard line. He ended the series with an 8-yard TD run.
Carolina backup quarterback Derek Anderson replaced Newton, who was roughed up
by the Steelers, and threw a late 35-yard TD pass to Kelvin Benjamin.
Pittsburgh’s Shaun Suisham connected on field goals from distances of 42, 24
and 45 yards in the first half. Gano opened the scoring with a 40-yard field
goal.
Game Notes
Brown has at least five catches and 50 receiving yards in 19 consecutive
games, tying Laveranues Coles for the longest such streak in NFL history …
The Panthers haven’t opened 3-0 since 2003 … Benjamin made eight grabs for
115 yards.
