Big Ben leads miracle charge
When fans and television announcers saw Ben Roethlisberger go down in the first half of Thurday’s game, most thought there was no way that he could possibly return. Ben’s leg got badly twisted while being tackled by the Browns. Roethlisberger couldn’t stand or walk on his own, and had to be helped off the field.
Based on the way his leg got twisted, some thought that it might be a season-ending injury. Little did they know that Big Ben is actually from Krypton.
Ben's leg gets badly twisted
To the surprise of fans and announcers alike, Roethlisberger came limping out of the tunnel after halftime. I assumed that he was going to watch the second half from the sidelines, but to my surprise, he started warming up.
Not only did Big Ben warm up, but he actually started the second half under center. He went on to perform better in the second half than he did in the first half, despite limping the entire time.
In the first half, Roethlisberger completed 8 of 9 passes for 102 yards. In the second half, he was 8 of 12 for 178 yards.
But Roethlisberger wasn’t the only hero of this game. Nope, if Big Ben was Superman, then Antonio Brown was Batman.
Brown led the team with 5 catches for 151 yards, including the 79 yard touchdown reception that put the game away for good.
And let’s not forget about William Gay, who must have been Green Lantern in this super hero themed game. The Steelers were leading 7-3 late in the fourth quarter, but the Browns were driving. They got the ball deep into Steelers territory, and the Steelers’ defense didn’t look like they were going to be able to stop them. A touchdown would have given the Browns a 10-7 lead with little time left on the clock. Fortunately, Gay intercepted a pass in the end zone, putting an end to the Brown’s hopes.
William Gay intercepts pass in the end zone
The Steelers ended up putting 7 more points on the board on Roethlisberger’s long TD pass to Antonio Brown. That’s how the score got to be 14-3. But Gay’s interception was really the nail in the Browns’ coffin.
With the win, the Steelers take a temporary lead over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. The Steelers and Ravens were tied atop the AFC North, but the Ravens have an advantage because they’ve beaten the Steeler twice. So the Steelers need a Ravens loss if they’re going to have any hope of winning the division.
Despite the fact that the Indianapolis Colts are 0-12, and have the worst record in the NFL, I’m sure that every Steelers fan will be rooting for the Colts this weekend when they play the Ravens.
I sure wish Peyton Manning was from Krypton too. But it looks like Big Ben is the only Kryptonian quarterback in the NFL.
It was a very exciting game. As bad as our defense looked at times, including on the Browns’ first possession until the Steelers’ goal line stand and when they were gashed for a few long runs and passes, we held them to 3 points, picked off two passes and left Colt completing only slightly more than half of his passes.
When you watch our defense these days, they do not seem as dominant and intimidating as in prior years, but when you look at the numbers, even with the opening day catasrophe, the Steelers are #2 at 15.2 points per game and tied with the Ravens for lowest yards per play. The Ravens defense is far more violent and disruptive, but in my opinion only a shade better than the Steelers.
1I can’t believe how well Gay is playing this year. Does he finally “get it”? Or is this a product of Troy being healthy making the entire secondary better?
2Dan R.,
You’re right. The defense on that first Browns’ possession looked terrible. We were lucky to get out of that one without a Browns TD.
As much as I hate to admit it, the Ravens defense may be more intimidating than ours right now.
Gee, I hate myself for even saying that. I hate complimenting the Ravens in any way. Somebody please shoot me now.
3Dan,
Everyone knows that I’ve been hard on William Gay over the years. And he’s deserved the criticism. But Gay has come through on more than one occasion this season, and I have to give him credit for that.
I still want to see Curtis Brown supplant him as a starter next year, but I applaud Gay for the improvements that he’s made.
4But isn’t Cortez Allen the dime back? He seems higher on the depth chart than Brown, at this point at least.
5Jim,
Yes, Cortez Allen is higher in the depth chart right now. But that’s because Brown was injured early in the year, and had no opportunity to carve out a position in the depth chart. But Brown was drafted earlier than Allen, and was rated higher than him.
While Brown hasn’t gotten much opportunity at CB, he is tearing it up on special teams. If he keeps up this pace, he’ll likely be the special teams MVP. He’d probably be named a special teams captain for next year.
And if it weren’t for Marcus Gilbert making it into the starting line-up as a rookie, Brown would likely be rookie of the year. In fact, that’s still a possibility, even with Gilbert starting.
I am excited about the competition next year at cornerback. Lewis, Allen, and Brown are all going to give William Gay a tough challenge for the second starting CB slot. It’s going to be fun to watch.
Frankly, with all of the young guys emerging, I doubt that B-Mac will even be able to make the team next year.
6