Steelers, Big Ben rebound with rout of Tennessee

Steelers, Big Ben rebound with rout of Tennessee

Associated Press

pittsburgh

Ben Roethlisberger has a pretty good explanation for how a guy with one good foot can throw for five touchdowns as he did in Pittsburgh’s 38-17 thumping of Tennessee on Sunday.

“I told ya, I was just faking it,” Roethlisberger said. “I’m a wimp.”

Not exactly.

Limping slightly on his sprained left foot, Roethlisberger put together the kind of sublime effort that’s become one of his trademarks. The more he’s banged up, the better he seems to play.

“He’s done it before,” said wide receiver Hines Ward, who caught two of Roethlisberger’s scoring tosses. “We’re used to it.”

Even if they’re not used to the way Roethlisberger matched his own franchise mark for touchdowns in a game, one he shares with Mark Malone and Terry Bradshaw.

Playing behind a patchwork offensive line that included good friend Max Starks — signed on Wednesday — Roethlisberger worked efficiently, getting rid of the ball quickly to keep Tennessee’s defense at bay.

It’s a major style change for a player who has built a career by holding onto the ball until the last millisecond while looking to make a big play, sometimes taking a beating in the process.

The Titans (3-2) never really got close Sunday.

Roethlisberger was sacked once and rarely touched while completing 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards. His only hiccup came on an interception that snuffed out a potential scoring drive late in the first half.

“He’s an A-player,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “He’s got to play [that way] in order for us to do well.”

A month into the season, the Steelers (3-2) finally looked like the team that rolled to the AFC championship a year ago. The defense, missing starters James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith, held Tennessee running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards on 14 carries and sacked quarterback Matt Hasselbeck three times.

It’s the kind of performance Tomlin was looking for after watching his team get rolled in Houston a week ago. The Steelers practiced twice in pads for the first — and only — time this season and the increased workload appeared to have a carry-over effect.

“I think it sent a message that we need to play more physical,” said linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who had an interception and 11/2 sacks. “We went out there and we brought it.”

The Titans came in as one of the early surprises behind the play of Hasselbeck and the understated approach of new coach Mike Munchak. A road victory against a perennial playoff team would serve as validation their hot start was no fluke.

Yet they never really got going. Hasselbeck threw for 262 mostly inconsequential yards and the NFL’s stingiest scoring defense couldn’t contain Roethlisberger or reserve running backs Jonathan Dwyer and Isaac Redman. The duo combined to run for 156 yards in place of Rashard Mendenhall, who dressed but did not play because of a hamstring injury.

“They kicked our butts and we kicked our butts,” Tennessee defensive lineman David Ball said.

The Titans committed nine penalties for 70 yards and couldn’t get the Steelers off the field on third down, particularly in the first half. Pittsburgh converted four of six third-downs in the opening 30 minutes, and even when punter Daniel Sepulveda come out onto the field, the Steelers still moved the ball.

Sepulveda hit Ryan Mundy for a 33-yard gain on a fake punt that helped the Steelers build a 21-3 halftime as Pittsburgh scored more points by the break than the Titans had allowed in a game all season.

“I think they just made it hard for us today,” Munchak said. “I wouldn’t necessarily say we were flat, but we didn’t play well. You can’t do that against a good team.”

Johnson admitted having hamstring issues in the second half and didn’t play in the fourth quarter, but Tennessee’s bigger problem was playing against a defense that showed fire against a quality opponent for the first time this season.

“We just didn’t make plays that we’ve got to make,” Hasselbeck said. “We had opportunities.”