Roethlisberger leads Steelers on bum leg

| December 9, 2011 8:00 PM

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played through a painful left leg injury to lead the Steelers to a 14-3 victory over the Cleveland Browns (4-9) on Thursday night.

Roethlisberger passed for 280 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yard scoring strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining to help the Steelers win for the eighth time in their last nine games.

Roethlisberger went to the locker room for X-rays following a gruesome second-quarter sack but returned to start the second half, passing for 178 yards after the break.

Pittsburgh (10-3) moved a half-game ahead of Baltimore in the race for the AFC North title.

Colt McCoy passed for 209 yards but also threw two interceptions for the Browns (4-9), who lost for the 15th time in their last 16 meetings with the Steelers.