By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
All week, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger heard the talk coming from Baltimore. If Ravens linebacker Bart Scott spoke once about the ferocious hit he put on Roethlisberger last season, he did it a dozen times. He talked of how much he enjoyed feeling the air rush out of Roethlisberger's body as he all but buried him in the M&T Bank Stadium turf. He also might have mentioned in passing that he'd love seconds of Big Ben at Heinz Field last night.
You think maybe Roethlisberger enjoyed the results of their latest get-together?
That he matched a Steelers record held by Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone with five touchdown passes in their 38-7 victory?
And, maybe most of all, that teammate Hines Ward caught Scott looking the wrong way and dropped him with a fierce block that surely had to knock all the breath out of the man?
"I didn't see it. Heard about it, though," Roethlisberger said, grinning.
What a joy it will be for Roethlisberger to see Ward's big lick on tape this week.
What a pleasure it will be for Big Ben's teammates and coaches to watch his performance all over again.
They'll probably stand in the dark film room and applaud.
This was, quite simply, Roethlisberger's best game. His passer rating said as much: A perfect 158.3.
And to do it against the hated Ravens?
Roethlisberger had so much fun that he foolishly talked his way back into the game to start the fourth quarter after he had left two series earlier with some sort of right hip problem, the result of being pushed to the turf by linebacker Terrell Suggs. That coach Mike Tomlin allowed that to happen with the Steelers so far ahead qualifies as the first truly dumb move Tomlin has made in his first season. The good news is that Roethlisberger handed off twice and survived a sack by linebacker Gary Stills before Tomlin came to his senses and got him out of the game for good.
"I was just trying to be there for my guys," Roethlisberger said. He limped noticeably on his way to the shower, but, at this point, there's no reason to think he won't be ready for the big game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field.
As crazy as Roethlisberger was to needlessly go back in to face a team that has been known to take great pleasure in causing him bodily harm, it's understandable why he was so frisky. This was a big game for the Steelers (6-2) because it enabled them not just to open a little ground on the Ravens (4-4) in the AFC North Division but also to stay ahead of the surprisingly successful Browns (5-3). But it also was a huge game for Roethlisberger after what happened to him against the Ravens last season. Scott, Suggs, Ray Lewis and friends rubbed his nose and just about all his other body parts in it in the games, here and there. Roethlisberger threw four interceptions, lost a fumble that was returned for a touchdown and was sacked 14 times in humiliating 27-0 and 31-7 losses.
The Ravens showed up last night with every intention of causing similar mayhem. In a ridiculous scene during the coin toss, they marched halfway on the field en masse to make it clear they were in town to rumble.
Roethlisberger made sure this fight was over early.
Just say it was a first-round knockout.
"I just wanted to win the game," Roethlisberger said.
Asked if it meant more to beat the Ravens after what happened last season, Roethlisberger shook his head and said, "Nah. It takes more than that to get me riled up."
I'm thinking the man was a little less than forthcoming on that particular subject.
"You could tell in warm-ups he had it tonight," backup quarterback Charlie Batch said. "He had a different look than I've seen. He's always confident. But the look he had tonight, he knew he was ready to play. He knew we were ready to play."
Back to Roethlisberger:
"I probably felt worse before the game than I have all year ... not sick or anything like that ... just because of all the confusion they cause on defense."
We all should be so confused.
Sure, Steelers linebacker James Harrison had a monster game. He played as if he wanted to be honored at halftime with Jack Ham, Andy Russell, Greg Lloyd and the other all-time Steelers greats who were in town for the franchise's 75th season celebration. He created short fields all game for the Steelers' offense with 31/2 sacks, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and an interception.
But it was Roethlisberger who ultimately made the Ravens pay. He shrugged off defensive end Trevor Pryce as if he were a gnat and threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller an instant before he took a late cheap shot from Suggs. The rout was on.
Roethlisberger fired a dart to Santonio Holmes between defensive backs Ed Reed and David Pittman for a 15-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead. He later threw two touchdown passes to Nate Washington and another to Holmes.
"This had to be very gratifying to Ben," Ward said.
Let's be real here.
There's only one word that perfectly describes Roethlisberger's night.
Breathtaking.
Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.
First published on November 6, 2007 at 1:54 am
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