On paper, the Pittsburgh Steelers-Carolina Panthers matchup for Thursday Night Football seemed to be one of the better ones of the season. Although, the Steelers wanted nothing to do with a competitive game, as they dominated Thursday's contest , start to finish, 52-21 at Heinz Field. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 328 yards and five touchdowns on 22-of-25 passing, as the Steelers continued to roll back in to first place in the AFC North without Le'Veon Bell. Although, there is hope and rumors that Bell will be returning to the team next week, which is the deadline for him to do so.
It might be the perfect time for their starting running back to return, as James Conner went down with a concussion in this one and did not return. Reports are that the young star is staying in the league's concussion protocol, and there is not yet word on whether he will be available for the Steelers' next game. Before Conner left the game, he ran for 65 yards and a score, while being held under 100 yards for the first time in five weeks.
Roethlisberger did not have to play the fourth quarter after going off in the first three, giving him a quarterback rating of over 180. He found Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster, Vince Williams, Antonio Brown, Vance McDonald, and Jesse James for scoring throws, as the Steelers found the end zone six times overall. Add in a 50-yard field goal from Chris Boswell and 457 total yards without a turnover, and you have the Steelers fifth straight win. That has them a game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals for the top spot in the AFC North.
The Panthers dropped to 6-3-1 on the season, with all three losses coming on the road, where they are just 1-3. Cam Newton did throw for two touchdowns, while Christian McCaffrey totaled three touchdowns, including one on the ground and two threw the air. The running back had 138 of the team's 242 yards on the night, as the Panthers dropped 1.5 games behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. They will visit the Detroit Lions after an extended break, while the Steelers will visit the struggling Jacksonville Jagauars that same day.
It might be the perfect time for their starting running back to return, as James Conner went down with a concussion in this one and did not return. Reports are that the young star is staying in the league's concussion protocol, and there is not yet word on whether he will be available for the Steelers' next game. Before Conner left the game, he ran for 65 yards and a score, while being held under 100 yards for the first time in five weeks.
Roethlisberger did not have to play the fourth quarter after going off in the first three, giving him a quarterback rating of over 180. He found Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster, Vince Williams, Antonio Brown, Vance McDonald, and Jesse James for scoring throws, as the Steelers found the end zone six times overall. Add in a 50-yard field goal from Chris Boswell and 457 total yards without a turnover, and you have the Steelers fifth straight win. That has them a game ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals for the top spot in the AFC North.
The Panthers dropped to 6-3-1 on the season, with all three losses coming on the road, where they are just 1-3. Cam Newton did throw for two touchdowns, while Christian McCaffrey totaled three touchdowns, including one on the ground and two threw the air. The running back had 138 of the team's 242 yards on the night, as the Panthers dropped 1.5 games behind the New Orleans Saints in the NFC South. They will visit the Detroit Lions after an extended break, while the Steelers will visit the struggling Jacksonville Jagauars that same day.
