The Pittsburgh Steelers tightened their grip on top spot in the AFC North and a first-round bye in the playoffs by routing the Carolina Panthers 27-3 on Thursday nigth.
While Pittsburgh had already clinched a playoff spot, the victory over the punchless Panthers (2-13) put the Steelers (11-4) in position to claim the division crown with a Baltimore Ravens loss to the Cleveland Browns tomorrow.
The Steelers wrap up their regular season against the Browns, while the Ravens close out their schedule against the Cincinnati Bengals.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“It’s great to be in the clubhouse for the weekend with the necessary win and we can watch others sort themselves out,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters. “We were far from perfect, but we were good enough to win tonight.”
“That’s not going to be easy going to Cleveland, but we’ll be prepared for that. It was good to get a win and move forward,” Tomlin added.
The Steelers kept the pressure on the Ravens by overwhelming the Panthers, the only team yet to record a road win this season.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger completed 22 of 32 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown, while adding a one-yard score on the ground.
Despite the lopsided score, Pittsburgh’s offense was not firing on all cylinders, squandering several scoring chances that could have proved costly against stiffer competition.
“I guess we have high standards for ourselves,” Roethlisberger said. “I left a lot out there. We got the win, which is great, but I still left a couple of throws out there that I’ve got to improve on.”
“You win, you get a bye and more time to rest. We still have a big game coming up. We have to take care of business,” Roethlisberger added.
A capacity crowd arrived at a frigid Heinz Field in the Christmas holiday mood and Steelers wasted no time getting the party started.
The hosts scored on their opening possession, settling for a 26-yard Shaun Suisham field goal after a video review ruled a no catch on an apparent touchdown.
However, there was no questioning the Steelers’ touchdown in the second quarter, Roethlisberger connecting with Mike Wallace on 43-yard strike to put the home side up 10-0.
The Steelers found the end zone again before the break, Rashard Mendenhall diving over from the one-yard line to cap a 72-yard drive, which was followed by a 29-yard Suisham field goal.
Pittsburgh came storming out of the break, Roethlisberger engineering another long drive and bulldozing over to put the Steelers in charge 27-0.
The Steelers were without defensive talisman Troy Polamalu, but did not miss their injured safety, limiting the Panthers to a 27-yard John Kasay field goal and 119-yards of total offense.
Carolina quarterback Jimmy Clausen completed 10 of 23 passes for just 72 yards, as the Panthers were unable to mount any type of consistent offensive threat on a wintry Heinz Field that will be turned into an ice rink for the Jan. 1 NHL Winter Classic between Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set