Monday, January 16, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
INDIANAPOLIS -- In an epic AFC playoff game that long will be remembered for what went wrong -- a fumble by Jerome Bettis, a missed field goal by Mike Vanderjagt -- it was easy to overlook what went right. That's particularly true of Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers' superb second-year quarterback.
All Roethlisberger did in this 21-18 thriller against the Indianapolis Colts yesterday was outplay the best quarterback in the National Football League. All he did was take the day away from the great Peyton Manning. All he did was jump-start the Steelers' offense to two first-quarter touchdowns with a mastery of his position that was nothing less than Manningesque.
But all people wanted to talk about was his tackle. That's right: tackle!
And why not? So what that Roethlisberger had passed for two touchdowns. So what that he had bulled his way for 1 yard and a crucial fourth-quarter first down. It was all about the tackle.
With 80 seconds remaining, the victory that had seemed to be theirs all afternoon at the RCA Dome was disappearing right before the Steelers' eyes. Colts cornerback Nick Harper scooped up a fumble by Bettis on the 7, and with the Steelers' goal-line offense, composed of some of the slowest men on the team, on the field there wasn't anyone capable of catching him.
The only Steeler who stood between Harper and the end zone was Roethlisberger. A cornerback against a quarterback in the open field figured to be a monumental mismatch.
Roethlisberger had other ideas.
"After I handed the ball off, I turned around to see Jerome score," Roethlisberger said of the play that began on the 2. "All of a sudden I see the ball flying. My first reaction was to go get it, but I knew I couldn't get there in time.
"Then I was trying to slow him [Harper] down and do something so our guys can come up and make a play. I turned him enough that he got close to me and couldn't decide which way to go. I saw his leg. I went and grabbed it and luckily he went down."
As Harper went down, tight end Jerame Tuman finished the tackle.
"Ben can play free safety for me any day," Joey Porter said.
"He was the best athlete on the field," Antwaan Randle El said.
"That was his biggest play," Hines Ward said. "Yes, he had a great game, but that was the play of the game. He saved the game-winning touchdown. He saved the season."
Indeed, he did. The Steelers live to play the Denver Broncos Sunday in the AFC title game. After their performance against the top-seeded Colts, no one doubts their ability to win and advance to the Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger is a huge part of that. This was his coming-out party. This game will be remembered as one of his first steps on the national stage to elite status among NFL quarterbacks. He's no longer the rookie who was along for the ride last year and who stumbled badly in the playoffs. He's a poised quarterback, who, as he showed yesterday, isn't second to anybody. He's the quarterback who in consecutive playoff games has outplayed Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning.
"Last year at this time he was still struggling with just calling the plays," offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said. "Now he understands. Now he knows, 'This is the coverage I'm seeing. I've got a small window of opportunity. I've got to throw it on time and stick it in there.'
"You don't have to scheme to get guys open because he can throw the ball into tight places. He's really making good decisions with the ball."
The confidence the Steelers have in Roethlisberger, who completed 14 of 24 passes for 197 yards, was obvious by their game plan. They stunned the Colts by leaning hard on the pass over the run in the early going.
Roethlisberger completed 6 of 7 on the opening drive as the Steelers moved 84 yards in 10 plays. He passed 36 and 18 yards to Heath Miller, 5 to Ward, 13 to Randle El, 13 to Willie Parker and 6 to Randle El for the touchdown. Two possessions later, the Steelers moved 72 yards in 14 plays with Roethlisberger passing 16 yards to Ward and 7 to Miller for the touchdown.
"The one he threw to Hines," Whisenhunt said, "it doesn't get much better than that."
Roethlisberger completed 12 of 19 for 172 yards in the first half. With the Steelers ahead, 14-3, they turned to Bill Cowher-football, which is: run the ball, control the clock, hold on to the lead.
It works rather well. In the regular season, Cowher teams are 100-1-1 when they have a lead of more than 10 points.
Roethlisberger threw for more touchdowns than Manning, had a better completion percentage than Manning and a better yards-per-attempt than Manning.
Naturally, he was asked if he had special satisfaction out of beating Manning. He neatly dodged the issue.
"You love watching Peyton play," he said. "The things he does are amazing. The throws he can make ..."
Did he at least feel he had matched Manning? On this one, his answer was again diplomatic, but he left no doubt about his feelings.
"We won the game."
(Post-Gazette sports columnist Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)
No comments:
Post a Comment