Game 1
Steelers 15, Falcons 9, OT
PITTSBURGH (AP) -Rashard Mendenhall ran 50 yards for a touchdown 2:35 into overtime and the Steelers overcame a shaky start by replacement quarterback Dennis Dixon and a missed field goal attempt late in regulation.
With the Steelers leaning heavily on their running game and defense without suspended star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Mendenhall carried 22 times for 120 yards and the game’s only touchdown. Hines Ward made six catches for 108 yards in his club record 26th career 100-yard game.
Pittsburgh appeared ready to win it with 39 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but Jeff Reed, who has nine career game-winning kicks, was wide right on a 40-yard attempt. Reed had hit earlier from 52, 36 and 34 yards. Atlanta was limited to three Matt Bryant field goals as the Steelers held running back Michael Turner to 42 yards on 19 carries.
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Game 2
Steelers 19, Titans 11
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Antonio Brown scored on an 89-yard kickoff return to open the game, and Pittsburgh forced seven turnovers.
Dennis Dixon hurt his left knee and was replaced by Charlie Batch, but the Steelers (2-0) swarmed the Titans (1-1) and came up with four sacks and forced the most turnovers by Tennessee since 2000.
The Titans even tried pulling Vince Young after his third turnover. Kerry Collins was intercepted to end his first series.
Pittsburgh also snapped Chris Johnson’s 100-yard rushing streak at 12 straight. The NFL’s rushing champ had a chance to move a game away from the league record of 14 held by Barry Sanders, but he finished with just 16 carries for 34 yards.
James Harrison had three sacks, forced a fumble and recovered another.
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Game 3
Steelers 38, Buccaneers 13
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Charlie Batch threw for 186 yards and two long touchdowns to Mike Wallace in his first start in nearly three years, helping the Steelers remain unbeaten.
Wallace scored on catches of 46 and 41 yards during a stretch where Pittsburgh scored on four straight possessions to build a 28-6 halftime lead.
The Steelers improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2007, despite playing without Ben Roethlisberger, who’s serving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
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Game 4
Ravens 17, Steelers 14
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Joe Flacco withstood Pittsburgh’s goal-line stand and go-ahead touchdown in the closing minutes to throw an 18-yard scoring pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh with 32 seconds remaining to make certain the Steelers wouldn’t go unbeaten without Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers (3-1) took a 14-10 lead on Rashard Mendenhall’s 7-yard run midway through the fourth quarter, and appeared ready to win after turning away Baltimore on third- and fourth-down plays from the 2 with over two minutes remaining.
But a holding call on a punt gave Baltimore (3-1) the ball at Pittsburgh’s 40 with 55 seconds remaining, and Flacco found Anquan Boldin on two passes for 12 yards and Houshmandzadeh for 10 to set up the winning score.
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Game 5
Steelers 28, Browns 10
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger, cheered loudly during his first game in 9 1/2 months, shook off the rust from his four-game suspension to throw three touchdown passes, and the Pittsburgh Steelers shut down a depleted Cleveland Browns offense during a 28-10 victory.
With the Steelers (4-1) leading 7-3 but backed up to their own 4 late into the third quarter, Roethlisberger – flashing the big-play ability his team lacked without him – completed passes of 50 yards to Mike Wallace and 36 yards to Heath Miller on successive plays.
Three plays later, Hines Ward fought through two potential tacklers on an 8-yard touchdown catch that made it 14-3 and gave the Steelers’ defense all the points needed on a mostly dominating day. The Browns (1-5) never advanced inside the 20 until rookie Colt McCoy’s late 12-yard scoring pass to Ben Watson with Pittsburgh already up by 18 points.The Browns fell to 1-5.
Browns wide receivers Joshua Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi were knocked out of the game in the second quarter after taking hard hits from linebacker James Harrison.
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Game 6
Steelers 23, Dolphins 22
MIAMI (AP) – The officials eventually got it right that Ben Roethlisberger fumbled at the goal line. The Dolphins were still left feeling wronged.
An officiating mistake negated Roethlisberger’s late fumble, and the Steelers kicked the game-winning field goal on the next play. Jeff Reed made an 18-yarder with 2:30 left, allowing Pittsburgh to escape with a 23-22 win.
One play earlier, with Pittsburgh trailing 22-20 and facing third-and-goal at the 2, Roethlisberger fumbled as he dived across the goal line on a quarterback draw. The play was ruled a touchdown as both teams scrambled for the loose ball in the end zone.
After a replay review, referee Gene Steratore announced that Roethlisberger fumbled before scoring. But Steratore said his crew had no clear evidence as to which team recovered the ball, and the Steelers (5-1) were awarded possession at the half-yard line, allowing Reed to kick the winner.
The Dolphins (3-3) then lost the ball on downs, gaining only 4 yards in four plays.
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Game 7
Saints 20, Steelers 10
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Drew Brees passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns for the Saints.
Brees was 20 of 22 for 191 yards in the second half, breaking open a defensive struggle in which neither team scored a touchdown through the first three quarters.
Brees’ first TD went to Marques Colston for 16 yards and the second went for 8 yards to Lance Moore with 2:37 left.
Leigh Torrence then intercepted Ben Roethlisberger to seal it for the Saints (5-3).
Rashard Mendenhall had the only touchdown for Pittsburgh (5-2) on a 38-yard run in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger was 17 of 28 for 195 yards in a matchup of the past two Super Bowl champs.
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Game 8
Steelers 27, Bengals 21
CINCINNATI (AP) – Antwaan Randle El threw a 39-yard touchdown pass off a trick play and Pittsburgh turned a fumble, a blocked punt and an interception into points before barely holding on for a 27-21 victory over Cincinnati.
The Steelers (6-2) kept pace with Baltimore atop the AFC North by taking advantage of the Bengals’ many mistakes and overcoming a few of their own. Jeff Reed missed a field goal attempt with 3:59 left, giving Cincinnati a last chance.
The Bengals (2-6) drove to the 12-yard line before James Harrison and Ryan Clark stripped the ball away from Jordan Shipley on a fourth-down pass with 34 seconds left, handing Cincinnati its fifth straight loss.
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Game 9
Patriots 39, Steelers 26
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Tom Brady maintained his mastery of the Steelers, throwing three touchdown passes to tight end Rob Gronkowski and scoring once himself, and the Patriots bounced back from an embarrassing 20-point loss by beating the Steelers.
No NFL team wins more on its home field than Pittsburgh, but no opposing player wins there like Brady, who has won six of seven overall against the Steelers and four of five at Heinz Field. He was 30 of 43 for 350 yards with no sacks or interceptions, and now has 14 career TD throws and three interceptions against the Steelers.
Pittsburgh (6-3), its normally dominating defense shredded by Brady during its second home-field loss this season, drops back into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North. The Steelers played most of the game without wide receiver Hines Ward (neck), whose streak of 186 consecutive games with a reception ended.
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Game 10
Steelers 35, Raiders 3
PITTSBURGH (AP) – James Harrison caused two turnovers that Ben Roethlisberger turned into touchdown passes and the Steelers went on to rout the Raiders.
Harrison led a defense that drove Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell from the game, and finished with five tackles, two sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. The former AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year also was called for a penalty for slamming Campbell to the turf as the quarterback was throwing a pass.
Roethlisberger finished with three TD passes and also ran for one. He threw scoring passes of 52 yards to Mike Wallace, 22 yards to rookie Emmanuel Sanders and 16 yards to Isaac Redman. He also scrambled 16 yards for a touchdown as the Steelers (7-3) bounced back after being rolled over by New England 39-26 at Heinz Field last week. Oakland fell to 5-5.
With less than two minutes to go in the half, Raiders defensive end Richard Seymour was ejected for an openhanded punch to Roethlisberger’s face as the Steelers quarterback was celebrating his TD pass to Sanders.
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Game 11
Steelers 19, Bills 16 OT
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) – Shaun Suisham kicked a 41-yard field goal with 2:14 left in overtime to lift the Steelers.
Buffalo (2-9) blew an opportunity to win it with 10:30 left in overtime. Wide receiver Stevie Johnson got in behind the Steelers secondary but dropped a 40-yard pass on the run, while he was 2 yards into the end zone.
The Bills overcame a 13-point first-half deficit and forced overtime with 2 seconds left in regulation when Rian Lindell hit a 49-yard field goal.
Rashard Mendenhall had 151 yards rushing and scored a 1-yard touchdown, while Suisham hit all four field-goal attempts, including a 48-yarder in a game the Steelers (8-3) never trailed. The decisive field goal capped a 13-play, 58-yard drive in a game both teams had chances to win.
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Game 12
Steelers 13, Ravens 10
BALTIMORE (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with 2:51 left after Troy Polamalu forced a fumble with a sack of Joe Flacco, and Pittsburgh beat Baltimore to gain sole possession of first place in the AFC North.
A fierce defensive battle turned when Polamalu hit Flacco’s arm on a safety blitz. The loose ball was taken 19 yards by Lamarr Woodley to the Baltimore 9, setting up Pittsburgh’s lone touchdown.
After throwing two incomplete passes, Roethlisberger dumped a short toss over the middle to Redman, who broke two tackles on his way to the end zone.
Baltimore’s ensuing drive ended when Flacco bounced a fourth-down pass to Ed Dickson with 33 seconds remaining.
The victory left Pittsburgh (9-3) a game ahead of the Ravens (8-4) in the division.
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Game 13
Steelers 23, Bengals 7
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Troy Polamalu and LaMarr Woodley returned interceptions by Carson Palmer for touchdowns as Cincinnati dropped a franchise record 10th straight game.
The Steelers (10-3) couldn’t get into the end zone on offense despite dominating time of possession – a 9 1/2-minute drive produced no points – but it didn’t matter as they closed in on a playoff spot by playing well enough to beat the Bengals (2-11).
Palmer threw three interceptions, two to Polamalu, as Cincinnati matched the David Shula-coached 1993 Bengals by losing 10 consecutive games in the same season. The overall franchise record is 11 consecutive defeats from 1992-93.
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Game 14
Jets 22, Steelers 17
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Mark Sanchez stood up to the pressure created by the Steelers’ defense and his team’s two-game losing streak, scrambling for the Jets’ first offensive touchdown in 12 quarters and leading a decisive field-goal drive as New York beat Pittsburgh.
Despite losing, the Steelers (10-4) secured a playoff spot via a series of complicated strength-of-schedule tiebreakers.
The Jets (10-4) held on to win even as Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers from their own 8 to the Jets 10 in the final 2:08, only to throw incomplete on the game’s final two plays.
Roethlisberger repeatedly kept the drive going, finding rookie Emmanuel Sanders for 29 yards on third-and-24, Mike Wallace for 18 on third-and-10 and Antonio Brown for 16 on third-and-10. The Steelers had to go for a touchdown rather than settling for a field goal because Mewelde Moore was tackled in the end zone for a safety with 2:38 remaining.
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Game 15
Steelers 27, Panthers 3
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger showed off Pittsburgh’s deep passing game and the Steelers inched closer to a division title and a first-round playoff bye, beating the Carolina Panthers 27-3.
Roethlisberger found Mike Wallace on a 43-yard scoring play and Emmanuel Sanders on a 35-yard completion to set up Rashard Mendenhall’s 1-yard touchdown run as the Steelers opened a 20-0 halftime lead.
It didn’t seem that close and it wasn’t, not with the Steelers outgaining the Panthers (2-13) by a more than 3-to-1 margin.
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Game 16
Steelers 41, Browns 9
CLEVELAND (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes and Pittsburgh won the AFC North to secure a first-round playoff bye.
Roethlisberger, who got to rest most of the second half, threw a 56-yard TD to Mike Wallace on his first pass.
The Steelers (12-4) built a 31-3 halftime lead and rocked the rival Browns (5-11), who didn’t put up much of a fight in their finale.
In winning its third division title in four years, Pittsburgh guaranteed itself at least one postseason home game.
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Divisional Playoffs
Steelers 31, Ravens 24
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Ben Roethlisberger hit rookie Antonio Brown on a 58-yard pass play on third-and-19, and Rashard Mendenhall scored from the 2 with 1:33 remaining to give the Pittsburgh Steelers a 31-24 comeback victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Steelers, 9-0 against division teams in the playoffs, advance to their fifth AFC championship game in 10 seasons.
The Steelers (13-4) were trailing 21-7 at halftime after turnovers created two Ravens touchdowns. But they came back with the help of three Baltimore turnovers in the third quarter. It was so bad, the Ravens’ minus-4 yards in offense wasn’t the worst of it.
Baltimore was outgained 263-126 as Joe Flacco was 16 of 30 for 125 yards as the Ravens became the eighth team in NFL playoff history to fail to gain at least 100 yards in the first three quarters. All eight teams lost.
The Ravens’ last chance to beat the Steelers – they haven’t in three postseason tries – ended when T.J. Houshmandzadeh dropped Flacco’s fourth down pass at the Steelers’ 38 with 1:03 remaining.
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AFC Championship
Steelers 24, Jets 19
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The Pittsburgh Steelers advanced to their third Super Bowl in six years thanks to a big-play defense that returned a fumble for a touchdown and staged a late goal-line stand in a 24-19 victory over the New York Jets.
Pittsburgh took a 24-0 lead in the first half when William Gay went 22 yards after fellow defensive back Ike Taylor sacked Mark Sanchez and the ball came loose. Pittsburgh’s Rashard Mendenhall had 95 of his 121 yards and a touchdown in the first half.
In the second half, the Jets did get a 45-yard TD pass from Mark Sanchez to Santonio Holmes – the hero of Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl victory two years ago – and a safety after Pittsburgh’s goal-line stand.
But the early hole was too deep, even after a 4-yard TD pass to Jerricho Cotchery made it 24-19 with 3:06 remaining. The Jets never got the ball back.
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