With all the buildup surrounding Andrew Luck and the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts, who would have thought it would be the Pittsburgh Steelers putting up 51 points, largely on the arm of Ben Roethlisberger?
Believe it or not, it happened.
Roethlisberger connected for a career high, and franchise record, 40 completions, 522 yards and six touchdowns.
Antonio Brown finished with 10 receptions, 133 yards and two touchdowns while rookie Martavis Bryant registered 83 yards and two scores as well.
“This is a good team win for us and that goes [from] players to coaches,” said Roethlisberger.
Ben was quick to give credit to the team and downplayed any talk of being amped up against star quarterback Andrew Luck -who posted his sixth consecutive game of 300+ yards- but coach Mike Tomlin admitted that the opponent did have an impact on how Ben approached the game.
“He wont admit it but I’m sure [playing against Luck was motivation]. You don’t ascend to the position that he is without that competitive fire burning,” said Tomlin after the game.
After an Adam Vinatieri field goal on the opening drive, the Steelers marched right down the field for a touchdown on their first possession. Markus Wheaton caught his first NFL touchdown on a back shoulder throw by Roethlisberger along the near pylon.
The Steelers held the ball for over 11 minutes in the first quarter and capped off their second touchdown drive in as many chances when Martavis Bryant caught his second touchdown of the season on a slant route three seconds into the second quarter.
Pittsburgh extended their lead to 21-3 when William Gay picked off Andrew Luck along the near sideline and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.
“Yeah that was too much and give credit to them, they outplayed us today. From our perspective, you kill yourself by throwing a pick-six,” said Andrew Luck who finished with 400 yard and three touchdowns.
The Colts, however, did fight to get back into the game.
On the ensuing possession, rookie Donte Moncrief caught a short pass over the middle and ran 55 yards to put the Colts in Pittsburgh territory. Luck found tight end Dwayne Allen in the back of the end zone for a 21 yard touchdown to bring the game within two scores.
Roethlisberger connected with Bryant again on a 52 yard pass the next Steeler possession. After the Steelers were stopped on 3rd and short, the Colts were called offsides on the field goal attempt, giving Pittsburgh a first down. The next play, Ben connected with Brown on an 8 yard touchdown.
“I’ve never seen anybody utilize his hands and feet and eyes the way [Brown] does. Anytime you get the ball in his hands…literally a big play can happen anytime,” said Roethlisberger about his number one receiver.
The Steeler defense forced a three and out and the offense answered with a 77 yard drive that ended with a 47 yard touchdown by Brown. Roethlisberger eluded a pass rusher before hitting Brown on the run at midfield.
Indy responded with an 8 play, 80 yard drive, capped off by a 28 yard touchdown to Hilton who toasted Cortez Allen.
The Steelers drove to the Indy 34 yard line before the Colts forced a 4th and 4. Instead of kicking a field goal, the Steelers had Roethlisberger attempt a punt, which was blocked at the line of scrimmage.
“Pouncey couldn’t hear me because the crowd was excited because it was fourth down and the guy kind of got an inside move on [Beachum]”
The Colts drove to the Steeler four yard line before hitting a field goal with one second remaining in the half to bring the score to 35-20.
Roethlisberger connected with Bryant on a two yard pass for his fifth touchdown of the game and Bryant’s second. The score was on the opening drive of the second half, highlighted by a 49 yard catch and run by Heath Miller to put the ball on the two yard line.
Indianapolis scored with 3:38 remaining in the third quarter to cut the lead to 15. Ahmad Bradshaw cut back toward the left side of the field and out ran the defense from 12 yards out.
On Pittsburgh’s next play from scrimmage, Darius Heyward-Bey fumbled after getting up from a completed catch. Three plays later, Donte Moncrief fought off two defenders to catch a 31 yard touchdown and bring the game within eight.
Pittsburgh looked like it was going to punch in another touchdown to get the lead back to two scores, but LeGarrette Blount fumbled the ball at the five yard line, giving Indianapolis an opportunity to tie the game.
Instead, Andrew Luck stumbled at the snap of the ball and tried to throw it away while sitting in the end zone. Since there were no receivers in the area, Luck was flagged for intentional grounding and the play was ruled a safety.
The Steelers drove to the 11 yard line. On 4th and 1, Roethlisberger faked the hand off and found Heath Miller over the middle for a wide open touchdown.
“We were going to run and last minute we decided to change it up,” said Ben who also credited offensive coordinator Todd Haley on the play call.
It was a record-breaking day for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger, however the bigger picture is the AFC North. With the Cincinnati Bengals defeating the Baltimore Ravens earlier in the day, the Steelers have a chance to move into a first place tie with a win next week against Baltimore.
Photo courtesy of USA Today
