Best of NFL: Steelers Outlast Chiefs to Defeat NFL's Last Unbeaten

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Le'Veon Bell ran for 179 yards and a touchdown, Antonio Brown made an acrobatic touchdown catch in the fourth quarter and the Pittsburgh Steelers held on to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 19-13 on Sunday.

The Chiefs (5-1) still had a chance after Brown's 51-yard reception made it 19-10, moving quickly downfield and getting a 33-yard field goal from Harrison Butker.

And when their defense forced a quick three-and-out, Tyreek Hill's 32-yard punt return gave them the ball with 1:48 to go.

But after the Steelers (4-2) gave up a first down, James Harrison sacked Alex Smith on third-and-10, and the quarterback's incomplete pass on fourth down left the NFL with no unbeaten teams.

Ben Roethlisberger was 17 of 25 for 252 yards for Pittsburgh, bouncing back from his abysmal five-interception performance against Jacksonville last week.

His favorite target was Brown, who a few weeks ago was flipping over water coolers on the sideline but spent Sunday slinging high-fives.

He finished with eight catches for 155 yards, often beating All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters.

Philadelphia Eagles

Complete coverage of the Philadelphia Eagles and their NFL rivals from NBC Sports Philadelphia.

1-on-1 with Howie Roseman, player profiles and more in NBC10's Eagles Draft Day special

WATCH: Awareness to Action: The Eagles Autism Challenge

The game in many ways resembled January's divisional playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium, when Bell churned for 170 yards rushing and the Steelers' defense shut down the Chiefs in an 18-16 victory.

Their defensive dominance was even more impressive considering the circumstances: The Steelers had allowed more than 200 yards rushing twice in the past three weeks, while Kareem Hunt ran for 107 yards and the Chiefs piled up 450 yards in a shootout victory last Sunday in Houston.

Kansas City rolled into the game averaging 414.2 yards and 32.8 points, but the Steelers shut down NFL rushing leader Hunt, who gained just 21 yards on nine carries. They also spent the afternoon with their paws on Smith's jersey, holding the league's top-rated passer to 246 yards and a touchdown (see full recap). 

Dolphins rally from 17-point deficit to stun Falcons 
ATLANTA - Jay Cutler and the Miami Dolphins finally generated some offense.

Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons totally fell apart.

The result: a stunning 20-17 victory for the Dolphins.

Cutler threw a pair of touchdown passes, Cody Parkey kicked a pair of field goals and Miami rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit, rekindling memories of Atlanta's epic collapse against New England in the Super Bowl.

And next up for the Falcons - a rematch against the Patriots.

"It's tough," Atlanta linebacker Vic Beasley Jr. said. "We experienced that feeling before in the Super Bowl."

Ryan, who had five interceptions in the two previous games, threw another crucial pick with the Falcons in position to at least attempt a tying field goal.

Cordrea Tankersley got a hand on a pass intended for Austin Hooper and Reshad Jones swooped in to make the game-clinching interception inside the 10 with 39 seconds remaining.

"I kept my eyes on the ball and made a great play," Jones said. "This was a huge win for us against a great offense."

The Falcons don't look so great at the moment.

Ryan is just one interception away from his total for all of last season, when he was the league's MVP.

"I understood we were in field goal range to tie the game. I also understood that we had plenty of time on the clock," Ryan said of the final possession.

"It was a throw I felt good about, so I let it rip. Just a good play by them. Sometimes, that's how it goes."

Parkey put the Dolphins (3-2) ahead for the first time with 2:30 remaining, booting a 38-yard field goal after a gutsy play by receiver Jarvis Landry, who was hit by six players but still managed to power ahead for a crucial first down (see full recap). 

Peterson scored twice as Cardinals hold off Bucs
GLENDALE, Ariz. - Adrian Peterson rushed for two touchdowns and 134 yards in an impressive Arizona debut and the Cardinals held off a furious second-half Tampa Bay rally to beat the Buccaneers 38-33 on Sunday.

The Buccaneers (2-3) lost quarterback Jameis Winston to a right shoulder injury in the second quarter, with the Cardinals (3-3) leading 21-0.

But backup Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 290 yards and three touchdowns to bring Tampa Bay back from a 31-0, early third-quarter deficit.

Fitzpatrick's 37-yard touchdown pass to Mike Evans cut the Arizona lead to 38-32 with 2:02 to play.

Larry Fitzgerald recovered the onside kick and, with no Tampa Bay timeouts remaining, the Cardinals ran out the clock.

Carson Palmer completed his first 14 passes and finished 18 of 22 for 283 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Fitzgerald caught 10 passes for 138 yards and a score.

Peterson, acquired in a trade with New Orleans on Tuesday, carried 26 times and scored on a 27-yard run to cap Arizona's first possession. He added a 1-yard TD run after Tramon Williams' interception near the goal line in the fourth quarter.

The 31-year-old running back gained 47 more yards on Sunday than the 87 he had in four games with the Saints. Arizona ran for 160 yards after averaging 52 yards rushing through five games, by far the worst in the league. Of course, they are without the versatile but injured David Johnson (see full recap). 

Cousins inconsistent as Redskins hold on to beat 49ers
LANDOVER, Md. - Jay Gruden took solace in the fact he didn't feel as happy as he normally would when celebrating a victory.

There's reason for that after Kirk Cousins and the Washington Redskins sweated it out and barely held on to beat past - and possibly future - mentor Kyle Shanahan's winless San Francisco 49ers 26-24 on Sunday. The Redskins (3-2) blew a 17-point lead amid injuries and a pair of turnovers and survived a last-minute drive by 49ers rookie quarterback C.J. Beathard.

"You can see that we're starting to turn a corner a little bit when you're not quite as ecstatic as you normally would be after a win," Gruden said. "I know we can play a lot better."

That includes Cousins, who threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and had an interception against the team he has been linked to for next season because of his connection with Shanahan. Gruden called Cousins' play "efficient" after the quarterback was 25 of 37 for 330 yards passing and added 27 yards on the ground.

Despite the inconsistencies, Cousins came away smiling.

"I think we did a good job as an offense," said Cousins, who had TD passes to Josh Doctson and Samaje Perine. "It wasn't perfect. There were a couple mistakes, but all in all (we) did a lot of good things."

Shanahan benched Brian Hoyer for Beathard, who threw for 245 yards, a touchdown and an interception and nearly led an impressive comeback.

Beathard, a third-round pick out of Iowa and grandson of former Redskins Super Bowl-winning general manager Bobby Beathard, took over for Hoyer with about six and a half minutes left in the first half and the 49ers (0-6) down 14-0. After Hoyer was 4 of 11 for 34 yards, Beathard went 19 of 36 in his first NFL action.

Running back Carlos Hyde said Beathard looked "like he'd been out there before." Shanahan said Beathard had done enough to supplant Hoyer as the starter.

With the 49ers down by two in the final minute, Beathard led them toward field goal range with a 12-yard pass to former Washington receiver Pierre Garcon along the sideline. He was intercepted by Kendall Fuller on fourth down to seal the result that was much closer than many expected (see full recap). 

Copyright CSNPhily
Contact Us