Steelers offense comes together in win over Giants
PITTSBURGH — The pieces seem to be coming together just in time for a star-studded Pittsburgh Steelers offense that controls its chances of making an AFC playoff run.
Pittsburgh fed halfback Le’Veon Bell (and fed him some more) on Sunday. The Steelers got a typically eye-popping TD catch from Antonio Brown. They saw a breakthrough from tight end Ladarius Green, whose best day as a Steeler suggested his surgically repaired ankle is behind him.
And Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger far outplayed 2004 draft classmate Eli Manning in a 24-14 victory over the New York Giants, a team that came here as winners of six in a row but couldn’t make a play to turn around a sloppy, injury-riddled trip to Heinz Field.
This is the formula the Steelers surely envisioned when they signed Green to a four-year, $20 million free agent deal in the offseason. With him working the middle, Brown on the perimeter, Bell softening up the front with 29 carries for 118 yards (plus six catches for 64 yards), and Roethlisberger extending plays, Pittsburgh can threaten defenses in all areas of the field.
“It’s huge, because we know that teams are taking away AB on the outside,” said Roethlisberger, who finished 24-of-36 passing for 289 yards, two TDs and an interception.
“So we move AB around, and even Eli (Rogers) had a big catch today that got called back. But when those guys are working the middle of the field, it makes safeties respect in there, maybe not keying on AB so much.”
It only got easier Sunday after three Giants starting defensive linemen — including Jason Pierre-Paul, who departed before halftime with a groin injury — got banged up. The Steelers finished with 389 yards and had the ball for more than 34 minutes, which matters when you’re trying to cover up a defense that still has issues but exploited the Giants’ mistakes in this one.
The shine has come off the Dallas Cowboys’ visit to New York next Sunday night with the Giants (8-4), who handed football’s hottest team their only loss back in Week 1, now three games back in the NFC East standings with four to go.
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The Steelers (7-5) have won three straight to stay tied atop the AFC North with the Baltimore Ravens, who still have to come here on Christmas Day. And Roethlisberger is healthier now than he was in his return from knee surgery Nov. 6 at Baltimore, a week before Green was activated.
A brutal Manning interception near the Pittsburgh goal line and Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons’ 58-yard return set up Roethlisberger’s first TD pass in a scramble drill to Brown, who elevated over Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins on the way to a 14-0 halftime lead.
After the Giants cut the lead in half in the third quarter, Green stole the show, bouncing off safety Landon Collins to take Roethlisberger’s next pass for a 33-yard gain and then freezing Collins with a double move on a 20-yard score to make it 21-7.
“We had never doubted what (the offense) was going to be like,” said Brown, who had six catches for 54 yards. “We knew when (Green) came back to full health what he was capable of.”
All the while, Bell kept dancing and pounding away, with a heavy dose of quick screens and other plays to get the ball to the edges and force the Giants to defend the whole field.
“It adds a weapon,” guard Ramon Foster said of Green’s increasing role. “It adds openings for AB in a sense. You can’t just neglect Ladarius.
“That’s how this offense has to operate. You’ve got to have somebody down the stretch. The other guys will bring it along, and we’ll just be good that way — we’ll evolve that way.”
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Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero
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