Monday 17 December 2018 06:09, UK
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense stopped Tom Brady and the visiting New England Patriots twice in the redzone in the fourth quarter to hang on for a crucial 17-10 win on Sunday.
The victory ends a three-game losing streak for the Steelers (8-5-1) and sees them hang on to the lead of the AFC North, just ahead of the chasing Baltimore Ravens.
It was also Pittsburgh's first win over New England in six attempts since October 2011, with the Patriots (9-5) losing their second straight and missing a chance to clinch the AFC East title.
Roethlisberger threw for 235 yards and two touchdowns for the Steelers, throwing scoring strikes to Vance McDonald and Antonio Brown in the first half. He was, however, also intercepted twice by Duron Harmon.
Tom Brady threw for 279 yards for the Patriots, including a 63-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan in the first quarter, but also had one interception.
Leading 14-7 in the third, Chris Boswell missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt wide right that would have increased the Pittsburgh's advantage to 10 points. It was the 12th missed kick by Boswell this season - seven field goals and five extra points - most in the NFL.
Stephen Gostkowski, conversely, hit his 50th straight field goal inside 40 yards when he hit a 33-yarder with 20 seconds left in the third quarter to pull New England to within 14-10.
The Patriots drove down to the Pittsburgh five-yard line in the fourth quarter after Harmon's second interception but, on third-and-goal, Joe Haden made a leaping interception of Brady - hauling in the ball along the sideline between Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman.
Boswell then redeemed himself somewhat for the Steelers with a 48-yard field goal to make it 17-10 with two and a half minutes left.
Still plenty of time for Brady to mount a fourth-quarter comeback then, right? Wrong. New England again drove into the redzone, but three straight incompletions from the future Hall of Fame quarterback ended the game.
FIRST QUARTER
Patriots 0-7 Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger five-yard touchdown pass to Vance McDonald (Chris Boswell extra point good)
Patriots 7-7 Steelers: Tom Brady 63-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan (Stephen Gostkowski extra point good)
SECOND QUARTER
Patriots 7-14 Steelers: Roethlisberger 17-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Brown (Boswell extra point good)
THIRD QUARTER
Patriots 10-14 Steelers: Gostkowski 33-yard field goal
FOURTH QUARTER
Patriots 10-17 Steelers: Boswell 48-yard field goal
