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Monday 18 deceMber 2017

Patriots rally behind Gronkowski, edge Steelers 27-24

By WILL GRAVES after leaving a Monday
AP Sports Writer night victory over Cincin-
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Tom nati on a stretcher follow-
Brady and Rob Gronkowski ing a routine hit on Bengals
did it to the Pittsburgh Steel- wide receiver Josh Malone.
ers again. The emotional boost of
One questionable deci- Shazier’s surprise cameo
sion by Ben Roethlisberger faded quickly. Brady took
helped. a snap, and the reality the
Brady fed Gronkowski re- Steelers face without their
peatedly to set up Dion most irreplaceable defen-
Lewis’ go-ahead 8-yard sive player set in. Brady
touchdown with 56 sec- took the Patriots right down
onds remaining and Roeth- the field, connecting with
lisberger was intercepted Cooks for a 43-yard gain
in the end zone with 5 sec- that set up Rex Burkhead’s
onds left as the New Eng- 1-yard touchdown.
land Patriots rallied to beat The Steelers answered im-
the Pittsburgh Steelers 27- mediately on an 18-yard
24 on Sunday. lob from Roethlisberger to
The Patriots (11-3) gained Eli Rogers. Pittsburgh took
the inside track for home- its first lead over the Patri-
field advantage in the AFC ots since 2011 early in the
playoffs by ending Pitts- second quarter on a Chris
burgh’s eight-game win- Boswell field goal, one that
ning streak. Brady threw for came at a possibly heavy
298 yards with two touch- price. Brown left in obvious
downs and an intercep- pain after getting his left
tion. Gronkowski, fresh off a New England Patriots strong safety Duron Harmon (30) celebrates his interception in the end zone leg tangled up with a pair
one-game suspension, fin- of a pass from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) during the second half of an of New England defend-
ished with nine receptions NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017. The Patriots won 27-24. ers. He was helped to the
for 168 yards, including four Associated Press medical tent then taken to
on the game-winning drive. vive” the completion of the land safety Duron Harmon Steelers coach Mike Tom- a hospital for further exami-
It briefly looked like it catch. came down with it. One lin hardly downplayed the nation. Still, Pittsburgh hung
wouldn’t be enough. Roethlisberger hit Darrius kneel down later the Pa- pregame hype, welcom- around thanks to the depth
The Steelers (11-3), who Heyward-Bey for a short triots had their fifth straight ing the moment and the they didn’t have while get-
played most of the game gain but stayed in bounds. victory over the Steelers. pressure that comes along ting rolled by New England
without injured wide re- With the clock running and Roethlisberger completed with it even while facing the last time the AFC super-
ceiver Antonio Brown, ap- no timeouts left, Roethlis- 22 of 30 for 281 yards with an opponent that he’s powers met.
peared to take the lead berger hurried to the line. two touchdowns and the beaten just twice during his Bryant, suspended all of
when Roethlisberger con- Rather than spike it to set pick. Le’Veon Bell ran for 11-year tenure and never last season for violating the
nected with tight end up a short kick that would 117 yards and added an- in a game of true conse- league’s substance abuse
Jesse James for a 10-yard have sent the game to other 48 receiving as Pitts- quence, including a blow- policy, made a pretty one-
touchdown with 28 sec- overtime, Roethlisberger burgh hung in there even out loss in the AFC cham- handed touchdown catch
onds to left. The play was tried to win it. with Brown, the NFL’s lead- pionship game 11 months late in the first half that put
overturned on review, with Instead, he lost it. His pass ing receiver, in a hospital ago. Pittsburgh up 17-10 at the
official Tony Corrente say- to Eli Rogers was batted having his left calf injury ex- Pittsburgh received an break. Bell, limited to just
ing the ball did not “sur- into the air, and New Eng- amined. early emotional jolt when 11 snaps in Foxborough last
cameras cut to injured line- January, churned up clock
backer Ryan Shazier sitting and yards. Smith-Schus-
in a private box less than ter, the ebullient rookie,
two weeks removed from caught six passes for 114
spinal stabilization surgery. yards, including a 69-yard
The crowd at rainy Heinz catch-and-run that put the
Field roared as Shazier, who Steelers in position to at
appeared to be seated, least tie it. Roethlisberger
waved a Terrible Towe l. opted to go for the wind in-
The 25-year-old is recover- stead, a decision now that
ing from spinal stabilization could have ramifications in
budgetaruba@setarnet.aw surgery on Dec. 6, two days January.q