Roethlisberger's Super Bowl-clinching march just business as usual

Tuesday, February 03, 2009
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com


Robin Rombach/Post-Gazette

Ben Roethlisberger congratulates Santonio Holmes after the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

TAMPA, Fla. -- As he stood at a podium after one of the most frenetic and fabulous finishes for a franchise rife with spectacular moments, Ben Roethlisberger held on to a football as he recounted the final dizzying moments of Super Bowl XLIII. It was the same football he used to take a knee on the final play of the game.

"I gave the ball in the last game to Jerome [Bettis]," Roethlisberger said, referring to the Super Bowl XL victory in Detroit, Bettis' hometown. "I think I'll keep this one."

How appropriate. Especially since the Steelers gave the ball to Roethlisberger in the final 2Â 1/2 minutes and entrusted him with winning the game, a scenario that had played out successfully on five previous occasions this season.

And, oh how he responded, leading the Steelers on what statistically will be listed as an eight-play, 78-yard drive that actually required 88 yards in seven plays because of a holding penalty against guard Chris Kemoeatu on the first play.

And it was Roethlisberger who made all the plays, completing 5 of 7 passes for 84 yards and throwing the winning touchdown to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds remaining on a play that will rank as one of the greatest catches in Super Bowl history.

"Our defense gets a lot of recognition for what they're capable of, and rightfully so," coach Mike Tomlin said. "But what you saw from our quarterback and our offense at the end of the game is what they've provided for us all year. When we've needed it most, they've done it and done it big."

When it was all over Sunday night, when the final flake of colored confetti stopped wafting in the cool, clear night at Raymond James Stadium, Holmes was the Most Valuable Player for his prolific role -- nine catches, 131 yards, one stunning touchdown -- in a 27-23 victory against the Arizona Cardinals.

But the award could have just as easily been given to Roethlisberger, whose ability to escape pressure, make plays on the run and deliver big throws at the most critical junctures was further endorsement why he should be considered among the elite quarterbacks in the league. No longer should he be mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Philip Rivers and Tony Romo, quarterbacks who have never been to the Super Bowl.

Now that he has won two Super Bowls in four years, Roethlisberger belongs alongside Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

"Baltimore, now this one," said offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, referring to the winning 98-yard drive Dec. 14 in Baltimore that clinched the AFC North title. "If this doesn't set him apart, I don't know what does."

"A lot has been made about his performance in the first Super Bowl," Tomlin said yesterday, less than 12 hours after Roethlisberger made him the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl. "This guy was a second-year player. He was on a veteran-laden team led by a future Hall of Famer in Jerome Bettis. This time he is a fifth-year player, one who has a long-term commitment from this organization that he is our franchise quarterback.

"Under no circumstances did I expect him to be the guy who played in that game in Detroit. Everything he showed me is more in line with how he played [Sunday] night. That was my focus."

It was nothing new for Roethlisberger, nothing his teammates and his coaches haven't seen on more than several occasions during the season.

He brought the Steelers back in the fourth quarter or overtime on five other occasions, leading them on the winning drives in regular-season victories against the Baltimore Ravens (twice), Jacksonville, San Diego and Dallas.

Arizona was victim No. 6, meaning Roethlisberger has rescued his team in the final moments 32 percent of the time.

"All I was thinking was, 'Just be Ben,' " inside linebacker James Farrior said, recalling his thoughts when the Steelers took possession at their 22 with 2:30 remaining. "Just be yourself, make the plays and be smart. And that's what he did."

Indeed, after Kemoeatu's penalty moved the ball to the Steelers' 12, Roethlisberger went right to work, throwing a quick 14-yard pass to Holmes on first-and-20 and converting a third-and-6 with another pass to Holmes in the right flat for 13.

After an 11-yard pass to Nate Washington and a 4-yard scramble by Roethlisberger, the second biggest play of the drive came on second-and-6 at the Cardinals' 46. That was when safety Aaron Francisco slipped as he came up to cover Holmes in the right flat, allowing the third-year receiver from Ohio State to turn a short pass into a 40-yard gain.

Forty-eight seconds remained.

Roethlisberger tried to hit Holmes again in the left corner of the end zone on a play that was designed for Hines Ward over the middle. But the pass was high and skipped off Holmes' fingertips. Only 42 seconds were left.

Arians called "62 Scat Flasher Z Level," a play designed for Ward, who is the "Z," or flanker, to flash open across the middle. The other option is a checkdown to running back Mewelde Moore. When both were covered, Roethlisberger went to his third option -- Holmes, who made a dazzling play to get his feet inbounds before he was hammered in the back by Francisco in the back corner of the end zone.

"The throw was unbelievable," Arians said. "It was a great catch, but the throw was unbelievable."

Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com.
First published on February 3, 2009 at 12:00 am


The Drive

The play-by-play for the Steelers' winning drive in Super Bowl XLIII:

1-10 PIT 22 (2:30) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short left to M. Moore pushed ob at PIT 21 for -1 yards (A. Wilson). PENALTY on PIT-C. Kemoeatu, Offensive Holding, 10 yards - No Play.

1-20 PIT 12 (2:24) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short right to S. Holmes to PIT 26 for 14 yards (D. Rodgers-Cromartie).

2-6 PIT 26 (2:00) (No Huddle, Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass incomplete deep right to N. Washington (A. Francisco).

TWO-MINUTE WARNING (1:56)

3-6 PIT 26 (1:56) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short right to S. Holmes to PIT 39 for 13 yards (K. Dansby).

1-10 PIT 39 (1:33) (No Huddle, Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short right to N. Washington to 50 for 11 yards (A. Wilson).

1-10 50 (1:08) (No Huddle, Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger scrambles up the middle to ARI 46 for 4 yards (C. Okeafor, K. Dansby).

Timeout PIT (second) at 01:02.

2-6 ARI 46 (1:02) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short right to S. Holmes to ARI 6 for 40 yards (A. Francisco).

Timeout PIT (third) at 00:49.

1-6 ARI 6 (:48) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass incomplete short left to S. Holmes.

2-6 ARI 6 (:42) (Shotgun) B. Roethlisberger pass short right to S. Holmes for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN. The replay assistant challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was upheld.

ARI 2 (Kick formation) J. Reed extra point good.

PITTSBURGH 27, ARIZONA 23