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PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers got a much-needed win but might have lost another key offensive player. Chris Boswell kicked an 18-yard field goal with two seconds remaining to give the Steelers a 38-35 victory over Oakland on Sunday as Pittsburgh overcame an injury to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to hold off the Raiders and snap a two-game losing streak.
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Roethlisberger limped off the field with just under eight minutes left after being sacked by defensive end Aldon Smith. Roethlisberger was taken to a local hospital and scheduled to undergo an MRI and ESPN reported Sunday night he could miss a few weeks with a mid-foot sprain.
Just a week earlier, Roethlisberger returned to the lineup after missing four games with a left knee injury. In that same game, a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, star running back Le'Veon Bell was lost for the season with a knee injury.
"You can waste a lot of time focusing on the guys who aren't available to you," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "We're just focused on the guys who are and how we can put together the right mix to be successful, how we can utilize their skills, how we can work to minimize their weaknesses individually and collectively. Injuries are as much of the game of football as blocking and tackling."
Antonio Brown's 57-yard catch and run on a screen pass from backup quarterback Landry Jones got the Steelers (5-4) to the Raiders' 15 in the final minute and capped a day in which the wide receiver set franchise records with 17 receptions and 285 receiving yards.
"All I can say is 'wow,'" Raiders safety Charles Woodson said of Brown's performance.
Two plays later, Boswell kicked his third field goal of the day to end a seven-play, 79-yard drive engineered by Jones. That came after the Raiders (4-4) tied the game 35-35 with 1:15 remaining on quarterback Derek Carr's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
Roethlisberger completed 24 of 44 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
Running back De'Angelo Williams rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in place of Bell and also had 55 receiving yards on two catches. Wide receiver Martavis Bryant and rookie tight end Jesse James, making his NFL debut, caught touchdown passes.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak by the Raiders (4-4) and could prove detrimental to their hopes of getting to the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
"We played hard. We played to the end. We made a lot of plays," Raiders coach Jack Del Rio said. "We have a chance there to at least get that thing into overtime and go against a backup quarterback with Big Ben out. We had a great opportunity."
Carr was also 24 of 44 for 301 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Crabtree caught two of the scoring passes as he finished with seven receptions for 108 yards.
Running back Latavius Murray rushed for 96 yards on 17 carries but was knocked out of the game with a concussion in the third quarter when he was hit by strong safety Mike Mitchell and fumbled.
Wide receiver Amari Cooper and tight end Clive Walford also had touchdown receptions and fullback Jamize Olawale added a touchdown run.
What we learned about the Steelers:
1. Landry Jones provided hope. Jones entered in place of Ben Roethlisberger after the star quarterback injured his left foot with 7:09 left when sacked by Raiders defensive end Aldon Smith. Jones drove the Steelers 79 yards in seven plays to set up kicker Josh Boswell's game-winning 18-yard field goal with two seconds left. Roethlisberger just returned to action last week after missing four games with a knee injury. The Steelers went 2-2 in those games but were 2-1 with Michael Vick as the starting quarterback and lost at Kansas City when Jones started.
2. Antonio Brown is as dangerous as any wide receiver in the game. He set franchise records with 17 receptions, 284 receiving yards and 306 yards from scrimmage. While Oakland's pass defense is porous, to say the least, it left Raiders veteran safety Charles Woodson and the rest of the secondary shaking their head in admiration after the game.
3. The running game doesn't suffer with DeAngelo Williams as the feature back. Williams rushed for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries in place of running back Le'Veon Bell, who suffered a season-ending knee injury last week. Williams also started the first two games of the season while Bell served a suspension for violating the NFL drug policy and rushed for 127 yards against New England in the opener then tied a franchise record in Week 2 three rushing touchdowns against San Francisco.
Etc.:
--QB Ben Roethlisberger (left foot) left the game and did not return after being sacked by DE Aldon Smith in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger was taken to a local hospital for an MRI, but it was reportedly a mid-foot sprain. ESPN's Adam Schefter cited sources Sunday night reporting tests revealed Roethlisberger avoided a season-ending injury but could be out into December. The Steelers play the Cleveland Browns in Week 10 and have a well-timed bye in Week 11. He completed 24 of 44 passes for 334 yards and two touchdowns with one interception in his second game since missing four games with a left knee injury. Roethlisberger also moved into 14th place on the NFL's career passing yardage list, passing Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana while raising his total to 40,566.
--WR Antonio Brown set franchise records with 17 receptions, 284 receiving yards and 306 yards from scrimmage. He broke the receiving marks of 14 catches by Courtney Hawkins in 1998 and 253 yards by Plaxico Burress in 2002. Brown also rushed twice for 22 yards, giving him 306 yards from scrimmage, breaking the record of 256 set by Frenchy Fuqua in 1970.
--WR Darrius Heyward-Bey (left knee) left in the second quarter and did not return. He had no receptions Sunday and has 17 catches for 209 yards and two touchdowns this season.
--S Will Allen (ankle) returned to the starting lineup after missing three games. He made an immediate impact with seven tackles and three defensed passes.
--DE Stephon Tuitt (knee) was back in the lineup after sitting out two games. He made three tackles.
--QB Mike Vick (hamstring) was inactive for a third straight game despite practicing throughout the week. Vick started three games earlier in the season while QB Ben Roethlisberger was sidelined with a knee injury but has dropped to third on the depth chart behind QB Landry Jones.
--TE Jesse James was active for the first time in his rookie season as TE Matt Speath (knee) was inactive. James caught two passes for 13 yards, one being a four-yard touchdown from QB Ben Roethlisbeger. James was the Steelers' fifth-round draft pick this year from Penn State.
--WR/KR Jacoby Jones was active after being claimed off waivers from San Diego on Thursday and not participating in any practices. Jones averaged 20.8 yards on four kickoff returns but had just two yards on two punt returns. The nine-year veteran averaged 21.4 yards on kickoff returns and minus-0.8 on punt returns for the Chargers, who signed him to a two-year, $5.5-million contract as a free agent in the offseason.
