Steelers credit divine guidance
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
INDIANAPOLIS -- After the Steelers gave the Colts one last chance to save their remarkable season, wide receiver Hines Ward was looking for help.
"I truly believe that the Man Above had something to do with it -- he didn't want Jerome [Bettis] to go out like that," said Ward after the Steelers escaped the RCA Dome with a 21-18 playoff victory Sunday.
Just after linebackers James Farrior and Joey Porter sacked Colts quarterback Peyton Manning at the Indianapolis 2, the Colts were revived after the surehanded Bettis was clobbered by Colts middle linebacker Gary Brackett and lost the ball.
Crushing blow
"It was just deflating," said Ward as the Steelers went from all but clinching their second straight road playoff victory to giving the NFL's best team another chance. "Here's a guy who is a specialist at what he does and he rarely fumbles the ball.
"If this was his last game, you'd really hate to see him go out like that," Ward said. He's counting his blessings from above."
Betiis said he "couldn't believe it. I was frustrated because I fumbled -- that's something I don't do. I turned to see what happened, where the ball was. Then I saw the tackle and I went 'woo.' And my defense bailed me out.
"It was a great play by [Brackett]," Bettis said. "He put his hand on the football and that's the one thing you can never let happen."
Nick Harper, the Colts cornerback who played despite suffering a stab wound to his left knee Saturday, picked up the fumble and was stopped by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and tight end Jerame Tuman at the 42.
"Once in a blue moon, Jerome fumbles and once in a blue moon I'm going to make that tackle," Roethlisberger said.
The miss
With time running down, the Colts tried for an overtime-forcing field goal by Mike Vanderjagt that failed.
"I've never been part of a game where you had an all-time high, and then an all-time low," Ward said. "And to have a guy miss a field goal who rarely misses, we'll take it. We don't want to have to go through this many feelings again if we don't have to."
For three quarters, the Steelers offense resembled the Colts as they opened up a 21-3 lead.
Despite the noise produced by rowdy Colts fans under the domed roof, Roethlisberger completed 14-of-22 passes for 197 yards.
"We did all silent counts today," the Steelers' second-year quarterback said, praising his line. "They did a phenomenal job up front playing disciplined. To come out and put points on the board, and them not score, that was big."
Roethlisberger was referring to the two touchdown drives he engineered in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Randle El bobbled and dropped the first pass, but Roethlisberger completed his next seven, including a 6-yard touchdown toss to Randle El who beat the coverage of Colts rookie cornerback and Sharon native Marlin Jackson.
Tight end Heath Miller caught the first two passes for gains of 36 and 18 yards.
Pinball tackle
On the Steelers' third possession, Ward caught a pass near the Colts 40 where safety Mike Doss and Harper bounced off of each other, allowing Ward to spin free and run to the 16 for a 45-yard gain. Safety Bob Sanders was penalized for grabbing Ward's facemask, setting up first and goal at the 8.
Two plays later, Miller shed the coverage by Jackson and Doss to get free in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown.
Ward said the difference in Roethlisberger this year comes from "going through training camp to learn, hanging with guys on and off the field. His confidence is starting to grow and trust [in Roethlisberger] is starting to gain in this locker room.
"His confidence -- it's totally like night and day from last year," Ward said. "He's starting to have a lot of trust in his guys to go out and make plays.
"The deep ball to me was all about trust -- he waited for me to get separation from my guys."
williams@vindy.com