Big Ben strikes again: After jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead in the first quarter and then finding themselves down 27-20 at halftime, the Steelers offense never lost confidence that they could come back. Not even for a second. And much of the reason was the confidence and calm demeanor of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“We didn’t blink at all,” said receiver Markus Wheaton. “We went up early and we didn’t blink at all. Everyone was still into the game, had a positive attitude and that’s what helped us pull it out.
“Ben was huge. We ran that hurry up offense so he was calling most of the stuff. His attitude was great. That was my first time getting in there with him for that. I loved how he handled everything. He made the right decisions, whether it was hurrying it up, slowing it down, he did a really good job of handling the pace of the game.”
Roethlisberger engineered an amazing second half comeback, putting 17 second half points on the board and took the Steelers on an 11-play, 97 yard fourth quarter drive that took 8:03 off the clock.
“Ben always keeps the same demeanor in the huddle, whether we are up 21 points or down 21 points. He is always the same,” said rookie running back Le’Veon Bell. “You never get a sense of panic or you never feel like you are able to relax because we are up. It’s always the same tone and that helps the offense. That is the right thing to do.
“He helps me a lot. To have a guy like him back there with me every play, I can always ask him questions. He helps me in the game, in practice. He always keeps me calm and comfortable in the game, and that is what makes a great leader.”
Nothing new here: There might not be anyone that appreciates what Roethlisberger does more than the guys up front, the offensive line that have become accustomed to his confidence.
“He keeps it the same,” said tackle Kelvin Beachum. “He was calling the plays late just like he was the first drive of the game, putting the offensive line, running backs, and receivers in the right position to best fit whatever we needed to do to make that particular down work and it showed throughout the game. He keeps it about us and we understand when it’s about us we can control what we can.”
Roethlisberger finished the day with 29 completions for 367 yards and four touchdown passes, but after hearing his teammates speak, his impact was far more than just numbers.
“You can tell Ben is a natural born leader,” said guard Guy Whimper. “He showed he is a true champion.
“When we start off in the no huddle you can tell Ben takes control over the play calling. We knew coming into the game it was one of the things we had to do for a change up, and it worked in our favor. We had a game plan, we stuck with it. We knew it was going to be a tough challenge and we pulled it off.”
