The Sports Xchange

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers third-string quarterback Landry Jones had never played in an NFL game before Sunday. He never dressed for a game during his first two seasons in the league and the only reason he was dressed against the Arizona Cardinals was because starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger missed his third consecutive game with a knee injury.

When backup quarterback Mike Vick exited Sunday’s game early in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, the Steelers turned to the former Oklahoma Sooner, and Jones delivered four second-half scoring drives to lead the Steelers to a 25-13 victory at Heinz Field.

After Vick completed only 3 of 8 passes for 6 yards, he was replaced by Jones, who was 8-for-12 for 168 yards and two touchdowns, including an 88-yard pass to Martavis Bryant with 1:58 remaining that put the contest out of reach.

“It’s a whirlwind,” Jones said afterward. “I still can’t believe I got in the game and got to play. I’m still kind of reeling from it.”

Jones threw an 8-yard touchdown to Bryant on only his second NFL pass attempt. That touchdown came after Steelers linebacker James Harrison forced a fumble by wide receiver John Brown at the Arizona 32-yard line.

Jones’ second drive ended in more points when Chris Boswell booted a 51-yard field goal. Boswell’s third field goal of the game gave the Steelers a 15-10 lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

After Arizona cut the lead to 15-13 with a Chandler Catanzaro 39-yard field goal, Jones led a 13-play, 68-yard drive that ended with Boswell’s 28-yard field goal.

“He’s totally different (from Vick),” Arizona coach Bruce Arians said. “They went back to some things. They threw the ball downfield to some guys. He played very well. My hat is off to him. He won the football game.”

Bryant had six receptions for 137 yards and two scores in his first game of the season. He served a four-game suspension to begin the season and sat out last week with a knee injury.

What we learned about the Steelers

1. Landry Jones can play. The Steelers traded for Mike Vick in late August after backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury because they didn’t have confidence that Jones could be the backup. Jones took the first step in proving them wrong on Sunday when he led the Steelers to four scores on his four second-half drives. Jones was 8 for 12 for 168 yards and two touchdowns. Starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to practice more this week and could try to come back for the Steelers’ road game at Kansas City next week, but if he doesn’t the Steelers have a viable option in Jones.

2. The Steelers defense is opportunistic as well. Steelers defenders heard all week how the Arizona Cardinals were one of the more opportunistic defenses in the league after forcing six turnovers in a victory at Detroit last week. Defensive end Cam Heyward said the Steelers wanted to prove they were a ball-hawking defense in their own right, and they did that by forcing three turnovers. They intercepted Carson Palmer twice and forced a fumble that led to a touchdown for the offense.

3. It’s not so hard to kick at Heinz Field. At least not for rookie kicker Chris Boswell, who booted four field goals in his first home game, including a 51-yarder in the second half. Boswell replaced former Steelers kicker Josh Scobee, who missed two field goals in the Steelers’ previous home game. The Steelers cut Scobee and signed Boswell after a tryout. Boswell is now 5 for 5 on field goals.

Etc.

–WR Martavis Bryant led the team in receptions (6), receiving yards (137) and receiving touchdowns (2) in his first game of the season. His 137 receiving yards are the second-most in a single-game in his career (143, Nov. 9, 2014 at N.Y. Jets) and his two touchdown catches marked his third career multi-touchdown game in the regular season.

–S Mike Mitchell intercepted Carson Palmer in the end zone and recovered a fumble. The interception was the seventh of his career and his first as a member of the Steelers. He is in his second season with the Steelers after signing as a free agent.

–PK Chris Boswell kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal and became the first Steelers kicker since Shaun Suisham in 2013 to go 4-for-4 on field goal attempts in a game. Boswell was signed two weeks ago after the Steelers cut Josh Scobee after he missed two field goals in a loss to the Ravens.