No fun league? Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown penalized for goalpost jump

Pittsburgh added gloss to the scoreline in the final quarter as Brown capped a fine performance by running in a 71-yard punt return to complete his hat-trick of touchdowns and move his side to 7-5, while Colts remain joint top of AFC South despite slipping to 6-6.

Matt Hasselbeck faces a tough challenge in trying to remain unbeaten as a starter when he leads the resurgent Indianapolis Colts into a prime-time matchup at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. The first one came on the game’s third play, a lob at the goal line that linebacker Jarvis Jones snatched out of the air for his first career interception. “They had me out of sync with dropping eight and rushing three”.

“It happened there at the end and I don’t know if it is a concussion, but obviously we’ll put him in the protocol and do due diligence there”, head coach Mike Tomlin said after the game.

“I tried to stick it at the end with the goal post and it wasn’t something that went very well”, he told The Associated Press with a laugh. That’s exactly what the Indianapolis Colts are facing with Matt Hasselbeck. “Are we going to fold it up or are we going to dig down deep and go out there and do what we need to do in order to get into the playoffs?” “There are going to be games where you have to make stops”.

“Guys are growing”, said Roethlisberger, who overcame a sprained MCL that caused him to miss four games and a sprained foot.

Any significant injury to Hasselbeck means the Colts turn to Charlie Whitehurst, claimed off waivers from Tennessee Nov. 12.

On the Steelers’ next possession, DeAngelo Williams fumbles at the Pittsburgh 26.

“I don’t know about that yet”, Hasselbeck said. To get there, the flashes the Steelers have shown in pockets – thanks in large part to injuries to Roethlisberger and running back Le’Veon Bell – will have to become a full-fledged flame.

Pittsburgh responded with a 80-yard drive, capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger to Brown and a two-point conversion to take a 14-10 lead.

The Steelers finished the first half with a flourish.

BILLS 30, TEXANS 21: In Orchard Park, New York, Tyrod Taylor threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Charles Clay with 1:53 left to lead Buffalo. The Steelers’ 45-10 victory against Indianapolis was their eighth consecutive win in December, tied with Carolina for the longest current streak for the month in the NFL. Hasselbeck later found Frank Gore for a 9-yard score that put Indianapolis in front.

Roethlisberger says he’ll take the win but he believes the Steelers can do even better. Brown leapt between two defenders to haul in a 48-yard gain then caught his second touchdown pass of the night 49 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Steelers traded a conditional fifth-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Boykin, just one week into training camp this year.

Hasselbeck has been one of the best backups this season. In four game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jones has averaged 24.4 yards per kick return and 3.2 yards per punt return.