The return of Ben Roethlisberger didn’t exactly start like a house of fire, but playing the at time inept Browns was just what the doctor ordered as the Steelers won 28-10 to move to 4-1.
Roethlisberger was 16-for-27 for 257 yards with three TD’s. He had a pick on the teams first possession, which led to Cleveland taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. From there, Roethlisberger was his usual self, avoiding sacks and making plays downfield when it mattered.
Rashard Mendenhall rushed his way to 84 tough yards and a touchdown, the first rushing score Cleveland had allowed in 2010. Mike Wallace lead the receiving core with 90 yards on three catches with a score, Ben’s first on a pretty 29-yard catch to make it 7-3.
The Steelers defense did their part against Browns rookie QB Colt McCoy, as other than a late TD with the Steelers up 21-3, they held the former Texas QB in check. McCoy was 23-for-33 for 281 with a TD and two picks.
James Harrison knocked two Cleveland players out, as first he laid out Josh Cribbs in the second quarter. Cribbs left with a head injury and didn’t come back. Then later on Harrison nailed Browns WR Mohamed Massaquoi, knocking him out as well.
The Steelers took control of the game after leading 7-3 at the half with a big 5-play, 96-yard drive in the third quarter that saw Roethlisberger hit a pass play in first down to Wallace, and then hit TE Heath Miller for a 36-yard gain. The touchdown went to Hines Ward from 8 yards out to make it 14-3.
After a botched Browns punt in the fourth quarter that started the Steelers at the 8, they put it away for good with a Mendenhall two-yard run to make it 21-3 with 5:50 left.
The Browns scored a garbage TD when McCoy put a drive together and found TE Ben Watson with a 12-yard score to make it 21-10 with 4:09 left. The Steelers got their final score after a Lawrence Timmons pick, and Roethlisberger found Miller for a 14-yard score to wrap up the scoring at 28-10.
Overall the Steelers D covered for a somewhat sloppy outing early by the offense, but the team did what they had to do and got the job done against a clearly overmatched Browns club.
Roethlisberger was off on a number of passes, and clearly showed some rust, but again, it was good they were playing a team that wasn’t going to push them too much in their first game back.
Next week the now 4-1 team will head to Florida for the second time in 2010 as they play the Dolphins, who beat the Packers in OT Sunday in Green Bay and are 3-2.
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October 18, 2010 at 2:44 pm
C’mon Guys, where are the blogs?? When our Steelers lose, we light up the site. when they win, no one is talking? Ok, Ill start. A ton of positives to take away from the game of course. One thing I loved was ZERO sacks. Kugler has been a MAJOR upgrade at line coach. Ben took a half to get the jitters under control, but the 2nd half he was lights-out. Arians called a pretty good game. With Ben under center, Arians could have been his typical Aerial self. He kept the running game going and that helped both sides of the ball. A little shout-out to Isaac Redman who averaged 5 yards a carry yesterday. That should not go unnoticed. Also, Heath Miller is involved again, and that makes this team that much more dangerous. I like what I have seen from the two rookie WR/KR. I see big things there too. One concern I see is the continued attacking of the middle of our defense. I think the Dolphins will try to make big plays over the middle because the Steelers still look vulnerable in pass defense there. Colt McCoy played pretty well for the pressure he saw, but an experienced QB might have had more success over the middle then a rookie would.I am looking forward to seeing our run defense face Brown/Williams/Wildcat next Sunday. A Steeler win in Miami would be a great launching pad for the next month, because we have some BIG games coming up, all in a row!