Down 13-0, the Pittsburgh Steelers scored 24 unanswered points late in the second quarter and they held on to beat the Houston Texans 30-23 Monday night at Heinz Field.
The Steelers 24 point scoring explosion started with a 44 yard field goal by kicker Shaun Suisham with 3:13 left in the first half and ended with a two yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to running back Le’Veon Bell with 18 seconds left before the break.
In between those two scores, Roethlisberger hit rookie wide receiver Martavis Bryant with a long touchdown pass and wide receiver Antonio Brown connected with fellow wide receiver Lance Moore on a three yard pass via a trick play.
The Steelers two middle scores were both set up by turnovers as linebacker Jason Worilds forced a fumble with just over a minute remaining before the half and defensive end Brett Keisel picked off a tipped pass with 1:03 left before intermission.
In addition to his touchdown reception, Bell caught seven additional passes in the game and he finished the night with 145 yards from scrimmage.
Brown continued to show why he is one of the best wide receivers currently in the game as he registered nine receptions good for 90 yards in the win. In the process Brown also extended his NFL record streak of registering at least five catches and 50 yards receiving in a game to 23.
While Roethlisberger was sacked three times in the game, with one of them resulting in a lost fumble, he finished the night 23-of-33 for 265 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
After a rocky start, the Steelers defense managed to hold the Texans to 132 yards rushing after giving up 101 of those yards in the first half. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons recorded the Steelers only sack in the game and safety Mike Mitchell forced the third and final turnover in the game when he stripped Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins of the football following a 32 yard completion with 5:15 left in the game.
It was a much needed win by the Steelers and they now move to 4-3 on the season. They will next host the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night at Heinz Field.
