PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers rode Ben Roethlisberger’s right arm and Antonio Brown’s left arm to the AFC North title.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers rode Ben Roethlisberger’s right arm and Antonio Brown’s left arm to the AFC North title.
Roethlisberger shook off a pair of interceptions to throw two late touchdowns, including a 4-yard strike to Brown with 9 seconds remaining to lift the Steelers to a 31-27 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night. Brown caught Roethlisberger’s pass just short of the goal line and stretched the ball into the end zone with his left hand to cap a wild fourth quarter and give Pittsburgh (10-5) its second division title in three years.
The Ravens took the lead on Kyle Juszczyk’s 10-yard burst up the middle with 1:18 remaining. But Roethlisberger calmly led the Steelers 75 yards in 10 plays, the last 4 coming as Brown fought through a pair of tacklers to assure the Steelers of a third straight playoff berth.
“Right before we went out,” Brown said, “we said, ‘Let’s get the game-winning touchdown and get out of here.’ “
The Ravens (8-7) were officially eliminated when Joe Flacco’s pass near midfield was intercepted on the final play.
Kansas City secured a playoff berth with the Baltimore loss.
The Steelers have won six straight and ended a four-game losing streak to Baltimore.
Roethlisberger finished with 279 yards passing and three touchdowns to overcome two third-quarter interceptions. Those picks allowed the Ravens to take a 20-10 lead on Justin Tucker’s fourth field goal with 14:21 to play.
Brown caught 10 passes for 96 yards to join Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison as the only players with four straight seasons with at least 100 receptions.
Le’Veon Bell ran for 122 yards and a 7-yard touchdown that kick-started Pittsburgh’s rally during a fourth quarter that featured 31 combined points and three lead changes in the final 7:16.
Flacco passed for 262 yards, including a pretty 18-yard dart to Steve Smith that put Baltimore up 14-10 early in the third quarter. Smith ended up with seven receptions for 79 yards, but the Ravens crumbled late. Their defense put up little resistance as Roethlisberger clinically got his team in position to get back to the playoffs.
It’s a destination that seemed to be disappearing right in front of Pittsburgh’s eyes in the third quarter. Roethlisberger threw a pair of interceptions deep in Pittsburgh territory — both poorly thrown balls to heavily covered targets — that helped the Ravens take control.
“I kind of dug ourselves a hole,” Roethlisberger said. “I take all that blame. We never quit and never gave up. Guys fought back.”
Indeed, with a season once filled with such promise slipping away, the Steelers turned to their three big stars. They all came through.
CHIEFS 33, BRONCOS 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With their postseason spot secured, the Chiefs turned to Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to roll past the Broncos and keep their AFC West title hopes alive.
Kelce had 11 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown, and Hill took a handoff 70 yards for another score, as the Chiefs (11-4) beat the Broncos (8-7) for the third straight time and eliminated the Super Bowl champions from postseason contention.
Kansas City punctuated the win in style when 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe, lined up at quarterback, threw a jump pass to Demetrius Harris with just under two minutes left.
A win next weekend in San Diego coupled with an Oakland loss in Denver would give the Chiefs their first division title since 2010, not to mention a first-round bye and home playoff game.
Meanwhile, the Broncos trudged through another inept offensive performance.
Trevor Siemian was 17 of 43 for 183 yards and a game-ending interception, and the only TD drive he led came after a pick gave him the ball at the Kansas City 6. Justin Forsett scored two plays later.