Pittsburgh Steelers beat Houston Texans on Christmas Day
Wednesday 27 December 2017 15:21, UK
Pittsburgh put a disappointing Week 15 defeat to New England behind them by beating Houston 34-6 on Christmas Day to wrap up a first-round playoff bye.
From marching down the field for a field goal on the opening drive, the Steelers were never in trouble against an injury-ravaged Texans team.
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Martavis Bryant ensured superstar receiver Antonio Brown was not missed after he was ruled out with a calf injury in defeat to the Patriots - the pair shared 135 yards across nine carries, with Smith-Schuster's 18-yard catch and run putting the seal on victory in the fourth quarter.
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns while Le'Veon Bell and Roosevelt Nix-Jones added two more on the ground for a win that means Pittsburgh are guaranteed one of the top two seeded positions in the AFC North.
A win for the Steelers against the Patriots last week would have kept Mike Tomlin's team on course for the No 1 seed and home-field advantage through the post-season, but they were denied when Jesse James' game-winning touchdown case was ruled an incomplete past with seconds remaining.
Trending
- Isak extends Newcastle's lead against 10-player Villa LIVE!
- Wilson heads in Fulham leveller at Chelsea LIVE!
- Forest continue to frustrate Spurs LIVE!
- Bowen prods West Ham in front vs Southampton LIVE!
- Bournemouth knocking on the Palace door LIVE!
- Yoro and Hojlund start for Man Utd at Wolves LIVE!
- Celtic four up and comfortable vs Motherwell - Scottish Prem LIVE!
- Liverpool vs Leicester preview: Vardy a doubt for Foxes
- EFL: Lampard's Coventry thrashing Rooney's Plymouth | Watch Champ goals LIVE!
- Man City 1-1 Everton highlights & rate the players
But Tomlin had vowed that his team would draw strength from the defeat and they dominated the Texans on both sides of the ball with the defence holding out a T.J. Yates led Houston attack to a solitary, and spectacular, one-handed DeAndre Hopkins touchdown in the final quarter.
Yates completed just seven of his 16 passes for 83 yards with Bill O'Brien favouring the run game as Alfred Blue impressed with 108 yards but the Steelers defense were rarely troubled as they offense sparkled when they needed to ensure a dominant victory.
For good measure, Chris Boswell added a couple of field goals to tie the franchise record for the most in a season (34) and a win for the Steelers means they good yet steal the top seed if they beat the 0-15 Browns next week and the Patriots suffer an unlikely defeat to the Jets in Foxborough.
The NFL regular season concludes next week with Week 17 - all 16 matches take place across two slots on Sunday and you will be able to follow action on Sky Sports from 6pm
