Steelers pull away from Panthers in second half.

Roethlisberger, offense

have huge second half

Associated Press

Charlotte, N.C.

Once the Pittsburgh Steelers found the end zone, they didn’t seem to want to leave.

Ben Roethlisberger threw two 7-yard touchdown passes to Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell ran for 147 yards and the Steelers beat the Carolina Panthers 37-19 on Sunday night.

The Steelers had gone eight quarters without a touchdown before Roethlisberger’s two scoring strikes in the third. They were set up by Cam Newton’s fumble and Bell’s 81-yard run.

Roethlisberger finished 22 of 30 for 196 yards, and Brown had 90 yards receiving on 10 catches to help the Steelers (2-1) snap Carolina’s eight-game home winning streak.

LaGarrette Blount ran for 118 yards and the Steelers outrushed the Panthers 264-42.

The Panthers were looking for their first 3-0 start since 2003 — the year they went to the Super Bowl.

The Steelers lost defensive starters Ike Taylor, Ryan Shazier and Jarvis Jones to injuries.

Newton finished 24 of 35 for 250 yards, but was a non-factor running the ball with 7 yards on two carries. He faced heavy pressure from the Steelers most of the night, sometimes even from a three-man rush.

Newton is recovering from fractured ribs and still wearing a thick flak jacket. He took a forearm to the midsection from Shazier while running out of bounds and then was driven into the ground by Cameron Haywood when he came free on a stunt on back-to-back plays near the end of the first half.

Later, Newton took a shot to the knees from Jason Worlids and came up limping.

The Steelers led 9-3 at halftime behind Shaun Suisham’s field goals of 42, 24, and 45 yards.

Pittsburgh hadn’t scored a touchdown since the second quarter of their season opener before Roethlisberger connected with Brown in the back corner of the end zone following a colossal error by the Panthers. The score came after Carolina’s Wes Horton was called for encroachment on a fourth-and-4 field-goal attempt, giving the Steelers a first down.

Brown scored on the next play.

After Bell broke free up the middle for an 81-yard burst on Pittsburgh’s next drive, Brown struck again getting free while running across the field at the goal line for another 7-yard score that put Pittsburgh up 23-6.

STEELERS 37, PANTHERS 19

Pittsburgh361414—37

Carolina30313—19

First Quarter

Car—FG Gano 40, 6:40.

Pit—FG Suisham 42, :07.

Second Quarter

Pit—FG Suisham 24, 5:37.

Pit—FG Suisham 45, :00.

Third Quarter

Pit—A.Brown 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 11:02.

Car—FG Gano 40, 6:21.

Pit—A.Brown 7 pass from Roethlisberger (Suisham kick), 2:22.

Fourth Quarter

Car—Olsen 37 pass from Newton (Gano kick), 13:28.

Pit—Golden fumble recovery in end zone (Suisham kick), 11:00.

Pit—Blount 8 run (Suisham kick), 5:38.

Car—Benjamin 35 pass from Anderson (pass failed), 3:53.

A—73,945.

TEAM STATISTICS

PitCar

First downs2420

Total Net Yards454349

Rushes-yards34-26410-42

Passing190307

Punt Returns2-171-(-10)

Kickoff Returns0-02-43

Interceptions Ret.0-00-0

Comp-Att-Int22-30-029-41-0

Sacked-Yards Lost1-63-23

Punts3-46.04-52.5

Fumbles-Lost0-03-2

Penalties-Yards11-917-105

Time of Possession34:3925:21

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING—Pittsburgh, Bell 21-147, Blount 10-118, Roethlisberger 1-1, Gradkowski 2-(minus 2). Carolina, Stewart 5-31, Newton 2-7, Tolbert 3-4.

PASSING—Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger 22-30-0-196. Carolina, Newton 24-35-0-250, Anderson 5-6-0-80.

RECEIVING—Pittsburgh, A.Brown 10-90, Miller 4-51, Wheaton 4-35, Bell 2-10, J.Brown 2-10. Carolina, Benjamin 8-115, Brown 7-66, Olsen 5-69, Tolbert 3-20, Stewart 3-19, Avant 2-12, Bersin 1-29.

MISSED FIELD GOALS—None.