Houston • Ben Roethlisberger threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched a first-round playoff bye with a 34-6 win over the Houston Texans on Monday.
Roethlisberger threw passes to six different players as Pittsburgh (12-3) romped over the lowly Texans (4-11) despite missing NFL leading receiver Antonio Brown, who sat out with a calf injury.
The Steelers led 20-0 at halftime after taking advantage of two turnovers by the Texans. Le'Veon Bell added a 10-yard TD run late in the third quarter and rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster made it 34-6 with an 18-yard touchdown grab in the fourth.