Steelers have a difference and it's the best quarterback left

Bob Smizik
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

As we know all too well, the Steelers have been here before. The AFC title game, the cusp of glory, is familiar ground to the Steelers. So is the crushing disappointment that comes with it.

When the Steelers play the Denver Broncos at 3 p.m. today, it will be their sixth appearance in 12 seasons in this final steppingstone to the Super Bowl. In four of the previous five appearances, they came away not just losers, but losers by upset on their home field.

Which means deep in the hearts of the celebrating Steelers Nation, buried beneath the outward shows of loyalty, confidence and fanaticism, lies the fear of disappointment.

Why should this game be any different than in the past?

Why will a Steelers team that is playing a third consecutive game on the road be able to do something prior clubs could not do at home?

Here's why.

For the first time in their six title game appearances, the Steelers have the most important ingredient for victory. Forget about the awesome defenses they've brought to these games. Forget about the crushing running games they come with. Those are important, but not as important as this:

For the first time since they've entered the NFL semifinals in the Bill Cowher era, the Steelers have the best quarterback in the field.

Ben Roethlisberger, who should be an inexperienced neophyte overwhelmed by the pressure of the postseason, is a commanding presence in these playoffs. He has not just been good, he has been excellent. It's too early to say with all certainty, but Roethlisberger appears to be a quarterback on the verge of greatness.

While his future is unclear, his present is not. Amid a field of veteran journeymen -- Jake Plummer of Denver, Jake Delhomme of Carolina and Matt Hasselbeck of Seattle, -- playing in today's AFC and NFC title games, Roethlisberger is the clear No. 1.
It's never been close to that before. Consider:

In 1994, the Steelers had Neil O'Donnell. The other quarterbacks in the field were Stan Humphries of San Diego and two future Hall of Famers, Steve Young and Troy Aikman.

In 1995, O'Donnell was good enough to win over Jim Harbaugh of Indianapolis, but was no match in the Super Bowl for Aikman, whose Cowboys had beaten future Hall of Famer Brett Favre in the NFC title game.

In 1997, the Steelers had first-year starter Kordell Stewart playing against future Hall of Famer John Elway. In the other side of the bracket were Favre and Young.

In 2001, it was Stewart again against future Hall of Famer Tom Brady. In the NFC game, the quarterbacks were Kurt Warner, at the time playing like a future Hall of Famer, and Donovan McNabb, a possible Hall of Famer.

Last year it was Roethlisberger, a rookie, against Brady. In the NFC, it was McNabb against the wondrously gifted Michael Vick.

Every year the Steelers' quarterback has been in the bottom half of the talent pool when the season came down to its final two games.

But not this year. In two playoff games, Roethlisberger has been superb.

On Jan. 8, in a first-round game at Cincinnati, he completed 14 of 19 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Steelers to a 31-17 win. He did not throw an interception, and his passer rating was 148.7, which is close to perfect.

In an AFC semifinal game Sunday against top-seeded Indianapolis, he completed 14 of 24 for 197 yards and two touchdowns and outplayed Peyton Manning in a 21-18 Steelers win.

In the postseason, his passer rating is 124.7. Just as he did in the regular season, when he was third in the NFL, Roethlisberger has a higher rating than any of his remaining competitors. Delhomme is 112.6, Hasselbeck is 100.6, and Plummer is 78.5.

Much is made of how the Baltimore Ravens won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer, a journeyman at best, at quarterback. But Dilfer was the exception. The rule is that the team with a great quarterback wins the Super Bowl.

In the past 16 years, 11 Super Bowls have been won by Hall of Fame or future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Aikman and Brady have won three, Elway two and Young, Favre and Joe Montana one. Another was one by Warner, who was playing at a Hall-of-Fame level.

The other four were won by journeymen, but in two of those games -- when Dilfer beat Kerry Collins of the New York Giants and when Brad Johnson of Tampa Bay beat Rich Gannon of Oakland -- the opposition quarterback was no better or worse.

Only twice in the past 16 years has the better quarterback been beaten. That happened when Buffalo's Jim Kelly lost in successive years to Mark Rypien of Washington and Jeff Hostetler of the New York Giants.

At this time of year, it's a game of quarterbacks. And the Steelers have the best one.

(Post-Gazette sports columnist Bob Smizik can be reached at bsmizik@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1468.)