The Florida Times-Union
http://www.jacksonville.com/
October 6, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, FL - OCTOBER 05: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers throws a pass in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on October 5, 2008 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
There's been a lot of uncertainty in recent months about what's going to happen with the Pittsburgh Steelers' ownership. However, a bigger concern for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been the Jacksonville Jaguars - with four consecutive wins over the black-and-gold - owning them on the field.
Big Ben decided Sunday that enough was enough.
Just as the Jaguars were in position to escape with an improbable one-point victory, the quarterback with the $100 million-plus contract performed magic when it mattered most.
After an embarrassed Jaguars' defense redeemed itself and shut down Roethlisberger for most of the second half, he showed why he's the best quarterback in the NFL not named Brady or Manning.
Roethlisberger engineered a spectacular 80-yard drive in the closing minutes, hitting Hines Ward with a perfect rainbow pass for an 8-yard touchdown that delivered a 26-21 Steelers victory in front of a crowd of 65,908 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.
It was a crushing blow to a Jaguars team that battled back valiantly to take the lead, but still can't get defensive stops when games are on the line.
"[Roethlisberger] was outstanding at crunch time," said Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio. "One of the things he does best is extend plays. He's got the ability. He's kind of a horse back there. He doesn't go down easy."
Again, as was the case in their four previous games, the Jaguars collapsed because they failed to put the opposing quarterback on the ground.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, left, scrambles as Jacksonville Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson attempts to make the tackle during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008, in Jacksonville, Fla.(AP)
Twice on the game-winning drive, Big Ben made great escapes that ended up breaking the Jaguars' hearts. Defensive tackle John Henderson almost had Roethlisberger sacked on the first play, but he slithered out of his grasp and completed a 16-yard pass to Hines Ward.
That was the first of three killer plays that undid the Jaguars. The second was allowing third-teamer Mewelde Moore to run 27 yards on a draw play that took the Steelers into Jaguars' territory.
On third down, Roethlisberger came up with his masterpiece move of the night. It looked like he was going to be sacked for a loss by Reggie Hayward, but he somehow got away and hit Ward for an 18-yard gain.
Three plays later, he and Ward hooked up again.
The game-winning drive was a carbon copy of the entire first half, where the Jaguars tried almost every conceivable defense to slow down Pittsburgh's attack without any success.
How bad was the defense in the first 30 minutes? Pittsburgh ran 46 plays to the Jaguars' 17, and outgained them by a whopping margin of 300-49.
The Jaguars didn't help their cause with several needless personal-foul penalties, but they still had a chance to pull out a victory.
A defense that gave up late fourth-quarter scores to Tennessee, Buffalo, Indianapolis and Houston maintained that trend.
This time, Big Ben did them in.
This story can be found on Jacksonville.com at http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/100608/jag_340716902.shtml.
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