Challenge: Find an offensive balance

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Maybe the Steelers didn’t exceed their own expectations by going 3-1 without Ben Roethlisberger. They certainly surprised a league that figured any team forced to start its No. 3 and No. 4 quarterbacks in September was in trouble.

Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon didn’t play up to Roethlisberger’s level, but they kept the Steelers atop the AFC North and made certain their season wasn’t ruined by the time Roethlisberger returned from his four-game suspension.

“If you had told us we’d be 3-1 at the beginning of the year without Ben, no one outside of this locker room would have given us a chance,” wide receiver Hines Ward said. “But it’s definitely great to have Ben back on our side.”

Now comes the question everyone in the AFC North is asking: How much better can the Steelers be now that their franchise quarterback is back?

The answer: Perhaps only as good as Roethlisberger allows them to be. And it may require a few concessions by a player who always wants the ball in his hands when the clock is winding down and games are being decided.

During their month without Roethlisberger, the longest stretch they’ve played without him since his NFL career began in 2004, the Steelers returned to their roots by winning with the running game. A season after Roethlisberger threw for a club-record 4,328 yards, or 604 yards more than any other quarterback in team history, Rashard Mendenhall is second in the league with 411 yards rushing.

Predictably, the Steelers are next to last in passing with a 136 yards per game.

While consistency in the passing game is lacking, re-emphasizing the run has improved the Steelers’ ability to extend drives and preserve leads, two notable deficiencies when they missed the playoffs with a 9-7 record a season ago.

What could change everything, including the newfound offensive balance, is if Roethlisberger returns Oct. 17 against Cleveland with a determination to show off his rested passing arm.

“We’ve got to realize that our all-world quarterback is an all-world quarterback, but what we have established is great,” wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. “We’re going to add him to what has been established. That’s one thing we’ve got to realize, how much the run is going to complement the pass and how we can just grind it if we need to. We’re not going to get away from the things we’ve been doing well.”

Now that he’s back, though, Roethlisberger should be able to open up an offense in which Ward has 12 receptions, a total surpassed by 67 other NFL receivers.