Roethlisberger leads unbeaten Steelers past Broncos

Ben Roethlisberger completed 29 of 41 passes for 311 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, James Conner rushed for 106 yards and a score, and the host Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Denver Broncos 26-21 on Sunday. Diontae Johnson had eight receptions for 92 yards and a TD and Chase Claypool had 88 yards receiving, including an 84-yard touchdown, for the Steelers (2-0).

Broncos backup quarterback Jeff Driskel completed 18 of 34 passes for 256 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in relief of injured Drew Lock. Melvin Gordon ran for 70 yards and caught a TD pass, and Noah Fant had four catches for 57 yards and a touchdown for the Broncos (0-2). Lock suffered a right shoulder injury when he was sacked and fumbled in the first quarter. He was 1-for-5 passing for 20 yards before being replaced by Driskel.

The Steelers used the takeaway to take a 7-0 lead when Conner capped a nine-play, 59-yard drive with a 2-yard TD run late in the first quarter. Denver got a Brandon McManus field goal, a 49-yarder, to make it 7-3 with 12:07 left in the first half.

The teams traded punts before Roethlisberger connected with Claypool for 84 yards for a score and a 14-3 lead. Chris Boswell kicked a 21-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Steelers a two-touchdown lead at the half.

Justin Simmons intercepted Roethlisberger on the first drive of the third quarter, and the Broncos drove deep into Pittsburgh territory before McManus hit a 28-yard field goal. Later in the quarter Driskel had a 20-yard TD pass to Fant, and then connected with him again on the 2-point conversion to make it 17-14.

Pittsburgh responded with a 75-yard drive, capped by Roethlisberger hitting Johnson with a 28-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-14. The Steelers then tackled punter Sam Martin in the end zone for a safety, but the Broncos responded with Driskel's 16-yard scoring strike to Gordon with 7:43 left to make it 26-21.

Denver stopped Pittsburgh's next drive and had a chance to go ahead. However, Driskel was sacked on fourth-and-2 from the Steelers' 15, and Pittsburgh went on to run out the clock. --Field Level Media

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)