Steelers bounce back to shred Panthers for blowout win
CHARLOTTE — Breaking down the Steelers' 37-19 victory over the Panthers.
What happened: Two of the league's toughest quarterbacks, Carolina's Cam Newton and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger dueled on NBC's Sunday Night Football stage. Roethlisberger returned to pinpoint form. Newton didn't finish.
The big question for the Pittsburgh Steelers was how would Roethlisberger rebound from what the Steelers quarterback called "the second-hardest hit" of his 11-season career?
After Roethlisberger was drilled in the chest by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Courtney Upshaw on the third snap of Pittsburgh's 26-6 loss on Sept. 11, he suffered shortness of breath and was inaccurate thereafter.
Upshaw was hit with a $16,537 fine for using his helmet.
But in his first action since, Roethlisberger showed no ill effects and looked remarkably accurate. Big Ben was back to his pump-action best, twice extending plays to find wide-open receiver Antonio Brown for a pair of third-quarter touchdowns and a 23-6 lead.
With running back Le'Veon Bell darting for 47 yards on 12 first-half carries, the passing lanes opened up and Roethlisberger was the guy causing shortness of breath for the previously undefeated Panthers.
Roethlisberger finished 22-of-30 for 196 yards with two touchdowns. Bell went for 147 yards on 21 carries, the first time Carolina surrendered a 100-yard rusher since Buffalo's C.J. Spiller in Week 2 last season.
As for Newton, he came in hurting with cracked ribs as he continues recovering from offseason ankle surgery. And he got pounded into submission by Dick LeBeau's blitzing defense. Newton was fortunate to survive back-to-back, second-quarter licks. Rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier's forearm appeared to bang Newton in the helmet during a sideline scramble. On the ensuing play, defensive end Cameron Heyward leveled Newton, who landed hard on his ribs.
Newton returned for the second half only to lose a fumble on Carolina's opening possession that set up Roethlisberger's first scoring pass. Backup Derek Anderson mopped up.
What we'll be talking about: So how good are these 2-1 Steelers? Hard to say at this point considering how they came in with just three field goals across their previous six quarters. But Bell is legitimate, the do-it-all bell cow back the Steelers have been searching for since Jerome Bettis was in his prime. And Roethlisberger showed anew how dangerous he is with his lethal pump fakes. The question is one of attrition given the losses of veteran cornerback Ike Taylor (broken forearm), rookie Ryan Shazier (knee) and linebacker Jarvis Jones (wrist). Can their backups hold the fort for the forseeable future until Shazier and Jones can get back?
At this rate, will Newton survive his fourth season? And what happened to that Panthers defense some were saying might be better than last year's second-ranked model? The Panthers had trouble tackling Bell and LeGarrette Blount as the Steelers averaged 7.8 yards per rush. Worse, they hardly pressured Roethlisberger, perhaps the first alarming sign they will miss defensive end Greg Hardy more than first imagined after Hardy, convicted in July on two counts of assault and communicating threats against a female, was placed on the exempt list Wednesday.
What's next: The Panthers travel to the Baltimore Ravens for "The Steve Smith Blood-and-Guts Bowl" against the former Carolina all-time leading receiver who is thriving in Baltimore and vowed on a Charlotte sports radio show this offseason that fans should wear goggles because of all the blood and guts.
The Steelers host 0-2 Tampa Bay before going on the road for back-to-back games at Jacksonville and at Cleveland.
Follow Jim Corbett on Twitter @ByJimCorbett.