TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Monday, October 22, 2007
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is sacked by the Bronco defense during the second quarter Sunday, Oct. 21, in Denver.
DENVER -- The intent had been to give a much better away-from-home accounting of themselves than they had in Arizona, and in this respect the Steelers failed.
They also lost to the Broncos on Sunday night, 31-28, a development that wasn't as damaging as the Steelers' performance was frustrating.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of interceptions, coming within one of matching his total in the first five games combined.
Free safety Ryan Clark fell while attempting to intercept a deep ball that had been launched with the trajectory of a punt.
Wide receiver Hines Ward dropped a pair of passes.
Even head coach Mike Tomlin got into the act, wasting a timeout by tossing his red flag onto the field in advance of a replay that clearly showed the ball hitting the ground while being trapped against Ward's hip.
Those examples were just some of what transpired in the first half of what -- for the Steelers -- became a Mile High climb.
By far the most damaging gaffe of the first two quarters occurred with 2:45 remaining before the break, when Roethlisberger got sandwiched by a pair of Denver defenders and fumbled.
The ball squirted out from under the pile and was retrieved by Denver defensive end Tim Crowder, who returned it 50 yards for a touchdown that gave the home team a 21-7 lead.
The Steelers' initial attempt at scrambling back resulted in advancing the ball to the Denver 31-yard line before getting called for illegal touching (on wide receiver Santonio Holmes, declined) and holding (guard Kendall Simmons, accepted) and allowing the third sack of Roethlisberger on back-to-back-to-back snaps.
The 65-yard field goal Jeff Reed attempted on the final play of the second quarter was as symbolic as any of the Steelers' first-half futility.
It was either that, or the Steelers' insistence on throwing the ball against the worst run defense in the NFL -- even worse than Cincinnati's.
The Broncos had allowed an average of 208.7 yards on the ground during the three-game losing streak that accompanied their appearance on "Football Night in America."
The Steelers responded by giving the ball to Willie Parker three times in the first quarter and 15 times in the first 45 minutes.
Trailing, 28-14, with just 15 minutes to play, there wasn't much chance for Parker to pad his stats. He wound up with 93 yards on 21 carries.
The Steelers made up that deficit thanks to a frenetic fourth-quarter performance by Roethlisberger, but they made the mistake of leaving 1:10 on the clock upon tying the game at 28-28.
That was just enough time for Jay Cutler and Jason Elam.
The Steelers still lead the AFC North Division by one-half game.
And with an upcoming trip to Cincinnati followed by Heinz Field visits by Baltimore and Cleveland, the Steelers still have a chance to take firm control of the division race entering the second half of the season.
But if they're chasing the Patriots and Colts, something they'll have to do eventually, they still have a long way to go.
With a chance to cement their status as the NFL's best of the rest, the Steelers instead proved they're not quite ready for prime time.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
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