From Bob Labriola, Steelers.com:

He completed 59.6 percent of his passes and didn’t turn the ball over. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third. And the best play he made was taking a sack that forced the Steelers to punt the ball back to the Ravens with a 23-16 lead and less than one minute left in the game. That’s because throwing the ball away would have stopped the clock, but taking the sack kept it ticking.

Ben Roethlisberger completed 28-of-47 for 270 yards, with two touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 89.8. He also rushed twice for 4 yards and another touchdown. But more important than those numbers was the way Roethlisberger was in command of the game and made the right decisions at the right time.

He is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.


You can read more here.

“Any AFC North football game is awesome. We came here, their place, hostile environment. A lot of respect for these fans. This is one of the loudest places I have ever played. We came out and we executed. That drive at the start of the second half was huge. A lot of third down conversions against the number one defense in the world. It feels pretty good.” — Ben.

Recap brought to you by Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:

The Steelers remain in first place in the AFC North after defeating the Baltimore Ravens, 23-16, in another hard-fought battle between the teams in the series.

The win is the Steelers third consecutive AFC North victory, improving their record to 5-2-1 on the season.

The win didn’t come without a nerve-racking moment when Ben Roethlisberger was tackled by Za’Darius Smith after a scramble and laid on the field for an extended period of time. Roethlisberger missed only one play, though, quickly coming back after it was just the wind getting knocked out of him.

“I am doing all right. I thought I was dead for a second,” said Roethlisberger. “Luckily it was just the wind. That is a big guy landing on you. I had to take a quick breather. I am all right. I feel like a typical Steelers-Ravens postgame, just glad we got the win.

When Roethlisberger went out, Joshua Dobbs came in for one play. And it was a huge one. The Steelers were facing a second-and-20 from the five-yard line and Dobbs’ first pass of the season was a 22-yard strike to Smith-Schuster to move the chains.

Roethlisberger completed 28 of 47 passes for 270 yards and two touchdowns, while James Conner had his fourth straight 100-yard gain, carrying the ball 24 times for 107 yards. He also had seven receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.

The defense was stingy again, allowing just 61 yards rushing and 209 yards in the air, while sacking Joe Flacco twice.

“(This win) means a lot. They got us the first time at home. We were able to come here and get this one.” — Ben.

More from Ms. Varley here.

You can watch teh video from Ben’s post-game interview here.

And for your viewing pleasure…video highlights of today’s game.

Photo: Ben wanted to share a picture of the cleats […]

From Jeremy Fowler & Jamison Hensley at ESPN.com:

Baltimore Ravens safety Eric Weddle always texts back and forth, “Good luck and be safe,” with a certain friend before every game.

On Sunday, Weddle will then see that buddy across the line of scrimmage in what will be one of the most fierce games of the season.

Weddle and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger have what they describe as a “genuine” friendship that dates to the 2011 Pro Bowl. They hit it off, talking about golf, fishing and family.

Roethlisberger is known to keep a tight circle, but Weddle is inside it.

“I value him as a real friend,” the quarterback said.

It has reached the point where Weddle and Roethlisberger will talk at least once a week throughout the season, even during the days leading up to the biggest rivalry in the NFL.

From the rigors of pro football to their love for hunting, the conversations have more range than Weddle in the open field.

“He’s just a good dude,” Weddle said. “I cherish relationships in this league.”

The two kept in touch sporadically at first, but the relationship mushroomed thanks to Roethlisberger’s yearly trips to California to see his agent, Ryan Tollner, and his sister, Carlee. Weddle was nearby as a San Diego Chargers safety from 2007 to 2015, so the two decided to meet for golf outings or family dinners.

“We always talk crap whenever we are around each other. He’s got kids, I have kids. It was just nice when it all started. When you text someone around the league, a lot of guys don’t text you back. But it was nice that he always texted or called me back. That meant a lot to me because he got stiffed by guys who big-time you.” — Eric Weddle.

Roethlisberger did more than text back when Weddle was a free agent in 2016. He walked into the Steelers’ front office and told coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert that they should sign Weddle.

Roethlisberger’s conviction came from Weddle’s ability as a “phenomenal football player,” he said.

“I pushed hard for him to come here,” Roethlisberger said.

Weddle ended up signing a four-year, $26 million deal with Baltimore.

“He knew everything was going down. He was just like, ‘I’m going to try to get you here,'” Weddle said. “He […]

Today, Ben announced the fourth and fifth grant awards of the 2018 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

The Foundation will be distributing grants to the Annapolis Police Department and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, both south of M&T Bank Stadium where the Steelers will play the Ravens on November 4th.

The Annapolis Police Department will utilize the grant to purchase needed safety equipment for their K-9 unit.

“This grant will be used to purchase two K-9 vests and an alarm system for a K-9 vehicle. These items are potentially lifesaving for our hardworking four-legged K-9 officers. We can’t thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation enough for this generous grant.” — Annapolis Chief of Police Scott Baker.

The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office plans to use the funds to replace a recently retired dog.

“As the Sheriff in Montgomery County, Maryland, it is my honor to acknowledge the generosity of the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for this grant to our K-9 unit. The Roethlisberger Foundation grant will allow the Sheriff’s Office to continue to train specialized K-9 teams for the Sheriff’s Office and other affiliated law enforcement agencies in our region.” — Montgomery County Sheriff Darren M. Popkin.

In commenting on why the mission of the foundation is so important to him, Roethlisberger said, “We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.”


Fans:

You can help support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation.


If you’d like more information about the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation you can visit Ben’s Foundation page. For more in-depth information, please contact Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.

Just in case you missed his show this morning on 93.7 The Fan:

Lil’ Ben is a BIG fan of James Conner –

After Ben returned home on Sunday evening, Benjamin Jr. wanted to play football in the living room…And who did he want to be?

James Conner.

“I texted (Conner) and I told him, ‘James, it must have been pretty cool to have (Heinz Field) chanting “Conner”, but you want to know something that’s even cooler? When I come home and play catch with my son and every time he catches it he’s you!’

I said thanks for being a good role model and please don’t ever stop understanding that everything you do you have a chance to be an amazing role model.”

The “Bell question?” –

“I’ll be honest, you know we get asked every week, not just on this show, but every week in the locker room and I think I said it after this last game. I don’t want to talk about it because he’s not here. When he gets here, we’ll talk about it. Until he’s here, I’d rather talk about James [Conner] and the guys that are here that are helping us win now.” ​

When asked about the move by the Browns, and on Todd Haley in particular –

“You know, it’s hard, I was kind of surprised. I don’t think you typically [fire] both a head coach and a coordinator. You wouldn’t think that, at least. I thought that maybe Todd would have gotten the job, but obviously they felt like they wanted to go with the defensive coordinator instead, with Gregg [Williams].” ​

“[Haley] a very passionate coach. He wants to win; he wants to get the best out of his players. I think there’s nothing wrong with that. I think that’s what you need, you want to have passion from a player, you want to have passion from a coach. Whether it’s from a player or a coach, sometimes it can come across as…and we talk about it with AB sometimes or with other players…sometimes it can come across in a negative way. But, when you’re passionate about wanting to win, that’s not always a bad thing in a coach.”​

And his thoughts on the terrible events of Saturday & attending the funerals today –

“I hate to admit […]

Thirty teammates showed up to support Cam Heyward at his event last night.

“This is everything. I don’t take it for granted. I enjoy every minute of it. That is what being a man of God, being a man who cares about his community does.” – Cam Heyward on hosting his event.

You can read more from Teresa Varley on Cam’s event, as well as watch video here.