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Roethlisberger leads Steelers to thorough dismantling of Panthers
By the time Week Three rolls around, we can start to see the outlines of how a season's going to go. The Carolina Panthers may not be who we thought they were. The Pittsburgh Steelers, as it turns out, may be a whole lot more.
The Steelers beat the Panthers in a game that wasn't even that close. Pittsburgh threw around Carolina like sacks of dog food on both sides of the ball. Pittsburgh's well-coached, well-managed, well-played game handed Carolina its first home loss since Week One of 2013.
A dull exhibition of field goals — four in the first half, three by Pittsburgh — exploded into an exceptional offensive display by the Steelers, starting with a dropped-from-the-sky touchdown from Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown. Following a monstrous 81-yard run by Le'Veon Bell, Roethlisberger again connected with Brown, putting the Steelers up 23-6 and effectively ending Carolina's last chance at a victory.
It got uglier, however, with Carolina punt returner Philly Brown muffing a kick, then compounding his own problem by trying to run with the fumbled ball rather than falling on it. The Steelers descended on him, the ball ended up in the end zone, and Pittsburgh walked away with another touchdown as the fans walked into the Charlotte night.
This was a landmark evening for Pittsburgh from a statistical perspective. Bell's run was the longest in the NFL this season and the longest by a Steeler since Jon Fuqua in 1970, 44 years ago. Bell and Blount both hit triple figures in rushing, the first time Pittsburgh had pulled off that feat in nearly 30 years.
For the Panthers, Cam Newton was 24 of 35 for 250 yards and a touchdown, a respectable total albeit much padded when the game was out of reach. Carolina wisely pulled Newton with five minutes left in the game, inserting Derek Anderson to prevent further injury to a still-healing Newton.
So where does this game leave each team? Both are 2-1, though both face drastically different prospects in their own divisions. The Panthers dropped into a tie for the NFC South lead with the Atlanta Falcons, with the New Orleans Saints just one game behind. The Steelers, meanwhile, share a division with the still-undefeated Bengals and the tough-to-pin-down Ravens and Browns.
Next week, both teams remain in the other's division. The Steelers get a virtual guaranteed W with a game against Tampa Bay, while Carolina and Baltimore will take one another's measure.
The Panthers aren't this bad, but the Steelers might just be this good. Carolina should stay in the mix for a playoff spot in the NFC, but Pittsburgh's performance is going to make the rest of the league pay attention.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Facebook or on Twitter.