Steelers lose 24-point lead, but hold off Browns
PITTSBURGH -- Brian Hoyer, the journeyman veteran who beat out Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel for the starting job in Cleveland, provided a lesson in resilience on Sunday. Then Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers provided another in how to finish.
Again.
Roethlisberger hit Markus Wheaton twice during a last-gasp drive to set up Shaun Suisham's 41-yard field goal as the Steelers survived, 30-27.
"Well, that was exciting, wasn't it?" joked Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
That's one way of putting it. Another might be harrowing after Pittsburgh let a 24-point lead evaporate.
Still, in the end it was Roethlisberger doing what he always seems to do when he faces the Browns. Roethlisberger improved to 18-1 against Cleveland after one last audible set up Wheaton for a 20-yard gain.
"When (Suisham) lines up to kick it, I was on the sideline like, 'This was why we have him,'" Roethlisberger said. "There was never a doubt he was going to make it." There never is when the Browns (0-1) play in Pittsburgh (1-0). Cleveland hasn't beaten the Steelers on the road in 11 years, though for the first time in a long time the gap in the decidedly one-sided rivalry appears to be narrowing.
Roethlisberger passed for 365 yards and a touchdown, running back Le'Veon Bell had 197 total yards and a score and Antonio Brown caught five passes for 116 yards with a touchdown. Brown added a highly entertaining (if illegal) kick to the face of Cleveland punter Spencer Lanning -- and still the Steelers needed every last second to hold off the Browns.
"We can't apologize for the way we win," Roethlisberger said. "We just have to win games."
LIers reflect on how 9/11 impacts them to this day Twenty-five years ago, the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil occured. Long Islanders tell us how 9/11 has shaped them.
LIers reflect on how 9/11 impacts them to this day Twenty-five years ago, the deadliest terrorist attacks on U.S. soil occured. Long Islanders tell us how 9/11 has shaped them.
