(Pittsburgh) Ben Roethlisberger had 123 aerial yards in what should be his last career start at Heinz Field and the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Cleveland Browns 26-14 on Monday night.
The Steelers (8-7-1) have kept their playoff hopes alive, but they’ll need a win over the Baltimore Ravens, combined with a loss to the Indianapolis Colts to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass and an interception and he was assisted by several of his teammates in this victory.
Rookie running back Najee Harris rushed for 188 yards, a career-high, and added a touchdown. Chris Boswell had four field goals and TJ Watt had four sacks.
Watt is now 21 and a half sacks this season, and he’s just one short of the NFL record set in 2001 by Football Hall of Fame member Michael Strahan.
The Steelers defense netted nine sacks at the expense of Baker Mayfield and the Browns (7-9), who were already eliminated, still left the game in the hands of their quarterback rather than give the ball to Nick Chubb, against the NFL’s worst defense in ground games.
Chubb carried the ball 12 times for gains of 58 yards while Mayfield made 37 passes. He completed just 16 of them for gains of 185 yards, throwing two touchdown passes and two interceptions.
The 39-year-old Roethlisberger led the Steelers as soon as he replaced injured Tommy Maddox after two weeks of activity in the 2004 season and as a rookie.
The crowd cheered as Roethlisberger ran onto the Heinz Field for the 135e times as a starting quarterback. He was alone in the middle of the field during the pre-match draw.
Roethlisberger had tears in his eyes during a post-game interview with ESPN.
“I’m just grateful to the fans and this place. There is no place like it here, ”he said.