Harrison, Defense Lead Steelers In 35-3 Rout Of Raiders
PITTSBURGH (KDKA/AP) - James Harrison caused two turnovers that Ben Roethlisberger turned into touchdown passes and the Steelers went on to rout the Oakland Raiders 35-3 on Sunday at Heinz Field for their seventh win of the season.
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.
The Steelers started the game on offense, but the Raiders forced a three-and-out.
On Oakland's first possession, two Pittsburgh penalties helped them get into field goal range.
Sebastian Janikowski connected from 41 yards to put the Raiders up 3-0 with just under 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Roethlisberger hooked up with Mewelde Moore for seven yards on third down from the 12-yard line to move the chains.
On the next play, Rashard Mendenhall capped off a 14-play, 85-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown run.
Steelers fans gave a raucous cheer after newly-acquired kicker, Shaun Suisham, converted the extra point to put the Steelers ahead 7-3.
Roethlisberger finished with three touchdown passes and also ran for another. He threw scoring passes of 52 yards to Mike Wallace, 22 yards to rookie Emmanuel Sanders and 16 yards to Isaac Redman.
Pittsburgh forced Oakland to go three-and-out on their next possession. After a 48-yard punt, Antonio Brown returned it 67 yards for a touchdown. However, two flags were thrown during the return and the touchdown was called back.
With just over four minutes to play in the first half, Roethlisberger called his own number to put the Steelers up 14-3.
Facing a third-and-five from the 16-yard line, Big Ben dropped back to pass. Seeing no one open and a running lane, Roethlisberger took off and dove into the endzone to extend the lead.
On the ensuing drive, Louis Murphy reeled in a pass from Campbell, but Ike Taylor knocked it loose and the Steelers recovered at Oakland's 35-yard line.
With 1:26 left in the half, Roethlisberger found Sanders for a touchdown to put the Steelers up 21-3.
After the score, Raiders' defensive tackle, Richard Seymour, was ejected for shoving Roethlisberger to the ground. Big Ben was slow to get up, but was able to make it to the sidelines under his own power.
The Steelers built on their lead early in the fourth quarter when Wallace caught a Roethlisberger pass for another touchdown and a 28-3 lead.
With just over a minute to play, Roethlisberger got a pass to Redman, who then scored his first career touchdown to cap off the game. Suisham's extra point put the Steelers up 35-3 to complete the rout.
Next week, the Steelers hit the road for a game against the Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m. on Nov. 28.
