/url] , center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro all became perennial Pro Bowlers who received lucrative contracts under Munchak’s guidance. In a way, his legacy will serve as a guiding lig

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger didn’t want to use the word “crossroads.” He did anyway.His team mired in a three-game losing streak and with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on the other sideline Sunday — a sight that typically signals doom for Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers — the longtime quarterback understood his team’s enigmatic season had reached a tipping point.“Are we going to step up and play? Are we going to divide each other? Who knows?” Roethlisberger said after a taut 17-10 victory. “This was going to be a great challenge for us against a team that is always one of the best. I thought we answered the bell today.”Article continues below ...In so many ways.Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels ran for a season-high 142 yards in his second NFL start. The defense that looked so vulnerable in the late going during Pittsburgh’s recent slide figured out a way to slow Brady and Rob Gronkowski. Embattled kicker Chris Boswell drilled a critical 48-yard field goal in the final minutes Nick Bosa Jersey , and the Steelers (8-5-1) gave their playoff hopes a welcome jolt.“I knew it was a big game, it was a redemption game for last year,” said Samuels, a senior at North Carolina State last fall when Pittsburgh collapsed late in a loss to the Patriots. “I just wanted to go out there and give them my all.”Forced into action with James Conner missing his second straight game due to a sprained left ankle, Samuels said he’s never been a feature back. Funny, the fifth-round pick considered a bit of a project certainly looked like one against New England (9-5). Samuels ran 19 times and caught two passes for 30 yards, including a leaping 20-yard grab on third-and-9 on Pittsburgh’s penultimate possession that helped set up Boswell’s field goal.“I was just staying relaxed, didn’t want to stay too tensed up,” Samuels said. “Just do what I do. We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game … it was a pretty good outcome.”One that helped Pittsburgh preserve its half-game lead over Baltimore (8-6) in the AFC North with two weeks to go. It also exorcised some demons. The Steelers had dropped five straight to New England and only beaten Brady twice in his storied career. Despite never trailing, their third win over him wasn’t assured until Morgan Burnett knocked down Brady’s heave to the end zone intended for Julian Edelman with 20 seconds to go.“It’s a big win for us,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s that time of year. We need to win this football game.”Roethlisberger threw for 235 yards with two first-half touchdowns and two interceptions. Boswell, who has struggled so badly this season the team held open tryouts during the week in search of a possible replacement Dwayne Haskins Jersey , atoned for a 32-yard miss in the third quarter by drilling a 48-yarder with 2:30 remaining that provided the final margin.“He’s our kicker from start to finish and I liked that way he came back and banged that next opportunity, and that’s what this thing is about,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “You are going to be tested, we are going to be tested. Sometimes you are going to fail, but you better pass enough of them.”MISSED CHANCEA victory would have given the Patriots their 10th straight AFC East title. While they still have two shots at it while finishing the regular season at home, the road issues don’t appear to be going away. New England finished 3-5 away from Gillette Stadium, the first time the Patriots have a losing road record since 2009.“We haven’t played very well on the road,” Brady said. “Obviously what we’re doing isn’t good enough.”Brady finished 25 of 36 for 279 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Pittsburgh held tight end Gronkowski to two receptions for 21 yards. Brady flung a jump ball to Gronkowski deep in Pittsburgh territory midway through the fourth quarter that was picked off by cornerback Joe Haden, just Brady’s fifth pick in 14 games against the Steelers.“I was just trying to flick it out of bounds,” Brady said. “Didn’t want to take a sack. It shouldn’t have happened.”The uncharacteristically sloppy Patriots were flagged 14 times for 106 yards, including a handful of offensive holding calls that blunted momentum. The Patriots had a second-and-5 at the Pittsburgh 11 with 37 seconds to go when right guard Shaq Mason was hit with a holding penalty that pushed the ball back to the Pittsburgh 21. The Patriots would get no closer.“There’s holding on every play in the NFL,” Brady said. “It’s what we do http://www.ravenscheapstores.com/marquise-brown-jersey-cheap , we hold. … If they’re calling it, we’ve got to do a little bit less of it.”HE SAID IT“Sometimes you got to cut your eyelids off when you want to blink when it gets thick, and we talk openly about that.” Tomlin when talking about his team’s ability to deal with adversity.UP NEXTPatriots: Host Buffalo next Sunday. New England is unbeaten at home this season (6-0).Steelers: Visit New Orleans next Sunday. Pittsburgh’s last road victory against the Saints came in 1990. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Shaun Sarrett wants to set something straight about the origin of his “Sweet Feet” nickname. It has nothing to do with boxing, Golden Gloves or otherwise. No matter what the members of the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line seem to think.If Sarrett is being honest, the team’s new line coach — promoted in the offseason after Hall of Famer Mike Munchak left to take the same position with the Denver Broncos — isn’t quite sure how the mythology that linked “Sweet Feet” to boxing got started. He will allow, however, that he didn’t necessarily do anything to discourage it.“Sometimes you’ve got to let those guys think that,” he said with laugh.The truth, much like the plainspoken and folksy Sarrett’s approach to his job, is far simpler. An offensive lineman at Kent State in the early 2000s, Sarrett was doing a drill one day when teammate Shawn Armstead noticed Sarrett gliding over the turf. “Sweet Feet” was born.Fifteen years later, it lives on Jaylon Ferguson Jersey , a moniker Sarrett knows he’s unable to shake even now. Not that he cares.“I’m just happy to have a name here with the Steelers,” Sarrett said Tuesday. “I’m proud of it.”Hard to blame him. Sarrett graduated from Kent in 2004 with no pro prospects, so he threw himself into coaching. That started a methodical climb from high school assistant to the man in charge of a veteran group that evolved into one of the NFL’s best during Munchak’s five seasons. Sarrett was actually sitting with Munchak when Steelers coach Mike Tomlin offered Sarrett the job to be Munchak’s replacement. It was more than a little surreal.“There was a moment when you’re sitting there for a minute and you think, ‘Man. You know, you had a goal — be an NFL coach — and then you’re like, ‘Wow. I made it,'” Sarrett said. “Then all of a sudden, just as that moment happens, you got to think to yourself, ‘I’m here. Now what are you going to do to stay here?’ You’ve got to keep grinding, just like anything else, like you did to get there.”Sarrett lacks Munchak’s gold Hall of Fame jacket and bone-dry humor. That’s where the differences largely end. The two worked 80-hour weeks together for five years. Sometimes Sarrett would throw an idea out there and Munchak would adopt it. Having one of the greatest linemen in NFL history not only listen to his ideas but implement them gave Sarrett a jolt of confidence and more than a bit of street cred with the players.“He’s watched more film than probably any other coach I’ve ever met Quinnen Williams Jersey ,” left tackle Alejandro Villanueva said of Sarrett. “And he’s got his own flavor to things, which I believe is going to be refreshing for the offensive line.”Where Munchak was decidedly old school — he preferred to do X’s and O’s on a dry erase board — Sarrett brought the meetings into the 21st century. Fewer printouts. More PowerPoints and video cut-ups.“I think guys in this day and era, you’ve just got to keep them modernized and keep them entertained in a way,” Sarrett said.As long as he’s teaching them in the process. Sarrett joined the Steelers as an offensive assistant in 2012. He’s not concerned about the dynamic between himself and the men he leads changing now that he’s the main voice in the room.“When you’re sitting there with them day in and day out, what they do is they see you, and if you’re trying to help them, they start caring,” he said. “If you’re trying to help them, they’re going to listen. They really do. For them, they want to be in this league as long as they can, and that’s what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to keep these guys in this league playing at a high level as long as they can, to continue to get them paid.”That’s something Munchak did as well anyone in league history. Villanueva http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/trysten-hill-jersey-cheap , center Maurkice Pouncey and right guard David DeCastro all became perennial Pro Bowlers who received lucrative contracts under Munchak’s guidance. In a way, his legacy will serve as a guiding light.“There’s definitely a part of your resume that had Munch there that you don’t want to let down,” DeCastro said. “You never want to let down a guy like that. He’ll always be with us.”Yet there’s also a chance to prove the group that gave Ben Roethlisberger time to lead the NFL in yards passing in 2018 wasn’t merely the byproduct of Munchak’s teaching. It was a collaborative effort, one in which Sarrett played a pivotal role, one that’s now expanded considerably.“We’ve built ourselves up to a certain standard around the league that everybody notices,” Foster said. “I think around the league, when everybody sees us operate, they’ll change their perspective on (Sarrett). I’m looking forward to it.”