Muhammad Wilkerson had Ben Roethlisberger wrapped up in his tree-trunk arms, a safety there to be converted, but before the Jets defensive lineman could drag down the Steelers quarterback, Roethlisberger squirmed out of his grasp.
“That’s what Ben does,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “That’s a big, strong guy back there, and I’ve seen him make those plays before.”
Sunday was just the latest example.
You can throw out records and recent trends when Roethlisberger and the Steelers face the Jets. The result almost seems predetermined — Big Ben will slice up the Jets secondary like a Turkey on Thanksgiving, use his feet to create plays and frustrate Gang Green to no end.
It wasn’t the 2010 AFC Championship Game or even the division round of the 2004 playoffs — the Jets’ two most painful losses to Pittsburgh — but Roethlisberger was up to his old tricks against the Jets on Sunday in a commanding 19-6 Steelers victory at MetLife Stadium.
“Roethlisberger’s a hell of a quarterback,” Ryan said. “If he’s in rhythm, he’s hard to stop.”
He wasn’t in much of a rhythm until Sunday. Pittsburgh came into the game off a bye, reeling at 0-4. Roethlisberger was struggling, much like his 2004 draft cohort Eli Manning, bedeviled by poor play around him and his own penchant for turnovers.
Roethlisberger and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley had an on-field incident during a loss to the Broncos early in the season and there was even sniping in his own locker room. Last weekend, safety Ryan Clark said, “You have to protect Ben against Ben,” and went on to say the Steelers weren’t good enough to withstand the mistakes their quarterback was making.
Clark predictably took a step back from those comments during the week and applauded Roethlisberger’s effort on Sunday.
“Ben Roethlisberger is the only reason I have a Super Bowl ring,” he said.
The sight of green-and-white jerseys made Roethlisberger look more like the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback than a mistake-prone veteran. He completed 23-of-30 passes for 264 yards, teaming up with Emmanuel Sanders on a 55-yard touchdown pass early in the second half to give the Steelers a much-needed cushion.
Roethlisberger didn’t force anything. He hit on big plays when they were there, and torched the Jets underneath. He found his favorite target, tight end Heath Miller, six times for 84 yards and connected with wide receiver Antonio Brown on nine receptions for 86 yards. After throwing five interceptions over the season’s first four weeks and losing five fumbles, the Steelers were focused on making the opposition beat them rather than vice versa.
“Ben was really good, really consistent,” Sanders said. “He came in with the mentality of taking care of the ball and don’t turn it over. When he had opportunities to scramble, he just threw it away, just moved on to the next play.”
Tomlin credited his quarterback’s communication against the Jets’ variety of blitz packages. After a rough start against the Jets’ physical front, the Steelers offensive line settled down and Big Ben led the team on four straight scoring drives.
“Ben was Ben,” Brown said.