Landry Jones has pulled two games out of the hat for the Steelers just as it would appear they were on their way to losing. Now he gets a chance to do something he has not yet done in the NFL — win a game he starts.
Jones will make his second career start Sunday when the Steelers (5-4) play the Cleveland Browns (2-7) at Heinz Field. His only other start came Oct. 25 at Kansas City, a game the Steelers lost, 25-13.
He has worked magic coming into games late for an injured starter, though. Sunday, he replaced Ben Roethlisberger in the fourth quarter and completed 4 of 6 passes for 79 yards, 57 of them on a short slant that Antonio Brown turned into a big gain that set up the winning field goal with two seconds left against Oakland, 38-35.
In his first appearance in the NFL Oct. 18, he replaced injured starter Mike Vick early in the third quarter and directed four consecutive scoring drives that included two touchdown passes to lead the Steelers from behind to a 25-13 victory against Arizona.
With Roethlisberger out for what a source described as a few weeks with a mid-foot sprain, Jones will get at least one more start before the Steelers have an off week. This will be the first time in his career Roethlisberger will miss five games in a season.
“We have to rally around Landry,” defensive end Cam Heyward announced. “Landry’s had a couple of starts.”
A couple of wins, yes, but only one start.
“It’s crazy. It’s almost better off the bench, you don’t have time to think about it,” Jones said of his performances in those two victories against the Cardinals and the Raiders. “You just get in there and go.”
He entered the game against Oakland with the Steelers on top, 35-28, and 4:21 left. If there were any thoughts coach Mike Tomlin and offensive coordinator Todd Haley would go conservative to try to run the ball and not put it in Jones’ hands, they were quashed quickly. On second-and-8 from his 26, Jones threw a 14-yard pass to Brown. On first down, he threw again to Brown. On the next third down, he completed a pass to Brown for 17 yards and what would have been another first down except Markus Wheaton was called for pass interference, virtually killing that drive.
After Oakland tied the score, Jones and his offense took over at the 20 with 1:15 to go. A 19-yard run by DeAngelo Williams was reduced to 3 yards because of holding on Heath Miller, and Jones began throwing again. He hit Miller for 5 yards, misfired for Martavis Bryant and then hit the virtual winner — a short slant on the right to Brown, who turned it into a 57-yard gain to the 15.
Jones, who looks more comfortable and in control in the pocket the more we see him play, had little doubt his coaches had enough faith in him to put the ball in his hands to win it rather than go conservative and have him hand off.
“I didn’t have that expectation, I know the coaches trust me and the players trust me. That’s a good feeling going in there, looking in the eyes of the guys in the huddle, they’re like, ‘All right, let’s do this, let’s play ball.’
“I love the mentality of Coach Tomlin and all our coaches. We’re going to play to win, regardless of who is in there. It’s kind of the next man up mentality.”
He acknowledged that after just three appearances in NFL games, all within the past month, things have changed for him.
“When I went in the first time it was like, ‘OK, what’s all this about?’ I threw a touchdown early so it kind of settled me down,” he said of his first appearance, against Arizona. “This time I was more calm and level-headed, for sure.”
They will need more of that Sunday against the Browns, who trounced Roethlisberger and the Steelers the previous time they played them, 31-10. Cleveland, however, has not won at Heinz Field since 2003, their only win in Pittsburgh in this century.
On the season, Jones completed 28 of 47 passes for 456 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions and a healthy passer rating of 95.7 (Roethlisberger’s is 92.2).
“It’s not the first time we have called on him this year,” Tomlin said of Jones’ performance Sunday. “He’s shown play-making abilities in those moments in the past. It’s reasonable to expect him to deliver again, not that we don’t appreciate it. We do.”
Ed Bouchette: ebouchette@post-gazette.com and Twitter @EdBouchette.
First Published: November 10, 2015, 5:00 a.m.
