Steelers 27, Falcons 20
“I’m a guy who never wants to have a losing season. Eight gets you a non-losing season. We got nine, and we’re going for 10 now.” — Ben.
From the AP tonight:
The Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer stuck on eight wins.
Ben Roethlisberger made sure of that.
Roethlisberger threw for 360 yards, pushing his season total to a career high, and capped his performance with a third-down pass to Heath Miller that clinched the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 27-20 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Gil Brandt @Gil_Brandt
Ben Roethlisberger broke his own Steelers single-season passing record with 4,344 yards. #PITvsATL
William Gay scored off an interception return for the Steelers (9-5), who remained a half-game behind Cincinnati in the AFC North with their second straight win. The Bengals stayed on top of the division by routing Cleveland 30-0.
“We’re not a perfect group by any stretch,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “but we’re a group that will fight to the end together.”
With Roethlisberger, they always seem to have a fighting chance.
He’s on a mission to get Pittsburgh back to the playoffs after they missed the last two years, going 8-8 each time. This was his third straight game with more than 300 yards passing, and eighth of the season.
Burt Lauten @SteelersPRBurt
.@steelers QB @_BigBen7 has now defeated all other 31 teams in the @nfl
Pittsburgh led 13-0 after Gay picked off Matt Ryan’s pass over the middle on the first play of the second quarter, returning it for a 52-yard TD. The Steelers extended the lead to 27-13 with Le’Veon Bell’s second touchdown, a 13-yard run in the opening minute of the fourth period.
The Falcons made a game of it, pulling within a touchdown on Ryan’s 4-yard pass to Roddy White.
But the Steelers wrapped up the victory by running the final 4:34 off the clock. They converted twice on third down, the clincher coming when Roethlisberger found Miller all alone for a 25-yard completion on third-and-1 from the Atlanta 39.
Roethlisberger completed 27 of 35 and increased his season total to 4,415 yards, surpassing his previous franchise record of 4,328 from 2009 with two games to go. Bell also scored on a 1-yard run, but fell short of becoming the first player in NFL history with four straight 200-yard games in total yardage.
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“Thank you Ben!”
On December 4th, Ben announced that his alma mater, Miami University, would be receiving a grant from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. At the time, MU Officer Keith Hibberd thanked Ben for his generosity:
“Thank you Ben for giving back to your alma mater, Miami University, and supporting our mission of keeping our campus and surrounding communities safe.”
As it turns out – he wasn’t finished, and wasn’t the only one that wanted to thank Ben for the grant to the University! The grant will be used for training that will not only benefit MU, but surrounding agencies who will be able to train at venues on the campus. Below are some awesome photos with thoughts from those agencies that will be positively affected by this grant.
Check out this photo: It’s MUPD K-9 Figo posing in front of Big Ben’s locker!
“The results handlers are able to achieve from their K-9 partners are a reflection of the work they put in. Joint training has enabled regional handlers to get the best possible results from their partners. Both human and animal.” — Patrol Office Keith Hibbard, Miami University Police Department.
In these photos: Patrol Officer Keith Hibbard of the Miami University Police Department with his K9 partner, Figo, and Deputy U.S. Marshal Aaron Fisher, Department of Justice (top left). Deputy Dan Kissing, K-9 Knut and Investigator Ron Stemen of the State of Ohio Fire Marshal Office (top right). Officer Patrick Murray of the Cincinnati Police Department and his K-9 partner, Duke (bottom right). Officer Ryan Sikora of the Oxford Police Department, and his K-9 partner, Cole (bottom left).
“The grant that was awarded to the Miami University Police Department K-9 unit will allow for continued effective joint training, leading to seamless operations between K-9 teams. This forward thinking allows for a greater preparation in real world instances when we’re needed.” — Deputy U.S. Marshal Aaron Fisher, Department of Justice.
“The Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal would like to thank the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for their continued support of police and fire working K-9 teams. With the continued support of public and private groups, like Ben’s, the success of each K-9 team is limitless.” — […]
Media Day: Ben talks Atlanta Falcons
“I have been fortunate to play with a Hall of Famer in Jerome (Bettis), I know he is. When I came in, to have a leader and a player like that was so beneficial. One of the great running backs of all time and it’s awesome. I think that Bell is on his way. (He’s) still young but the things that he can do in all three phases of the game to run, to catch the ball and to block are some of the most special things I’ve ever seen a running back do.” — Ben, on Le’Veon Bell.
From Steelers.com today:
Re: The mentality in facing a below .500 team on the road:
We have to win it. They’re a division leader. We know that we’re going to get everything that they have. We’re going to do everything we can to give it our best shot.
Re: A lot of talking heads saying that you can score a lot of points against a defense that’s not very good and what have you seen on film:
I disagree with the talking heads because they’re a good defense. They’re playing at home in that Georgia Dome where it’s loud and they’re on turf. It’s a big, tough task for our offense.
What are some of the challenges that Atlanta’s defense poses?
I think that they get after the quarterback. They have a good pass rush. I also think their secondary, they have some young players back there that are making plays, ballhawks that are very opportunistic. When the ball is in the air and they find a way to come down with it.
When the defense is getting hit with big plays do you feel that the offense has to respond with big plays and scores?
We always want to respond regardless. We always talk about answering a score with a score. So regardless of if or how the other team does it, we feel we want to do that anyway.
How important is that and who does it benefit more mentally?
I think any time the other team scores, if you go score (or) answer the score with a score, it really kind of picks you back up because the momentum is starting to change and shift. Whether it’s with the crowd or with the team, if you can answer […]
Trip to the Christmas tree farm
The Roethlisbergers headed out to find that special tree today:
But Benjamin Jr. may be in the market for a tree to put in his bedroom too!
Happy Holidays Steeler Nation! You can enjoy more family photos right here.
Steelers 42, Bengals 21
“We did a little play-action and I just let it fly.” — Ben, on the touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant.
From Joe Kay, AP:
The only fans left at Paul Brown Stadium in the final minutes were the ones twirling those yellow towels and celebrating another significant Steelers victory in December.
This one was bigger than most.
Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell came up big in a game that Pittsburgh had to win Sunday, leading the Steelers to a 42-21 drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals that left the AFC North race wide open.
Roethlisberger threw three touchdown passes, including a 94-yarder to rookie Martavis Bryant, and Bell scored three times as the Steelers (8-5) ran away by scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter.
Now, it’s a four-way race to the top.
Bell steadied Pittsburgh’s offense by running for 185 yards, catching six passes for 50 yards and scoring three touchdowns in the second half. He became the sixth player in NFL history to have 200 all-purpose yards in three straight games.
The Steelers ran for 193 yards and piled up 543 overall — 229 of them in the fourth quarter.
“We ran the same play three or four times in a row and those guys just couldn’t stop it,” Bell said.
Roethlisberger emerged from a three-game funk by making big plays as well, including the longest touchdown pass in the NFL this season. Up by eight points and backed up on its 6-yard line, Pittsburgh decided to fake a handoff and let Roethlisberger drop into his end zone and throw deep.
Bryant ran past cornerback Leon Hall and caught the ball in stride along the right sideline, reaching the end zone untouched.
“We did a little play-action and I just let it fly,” said Roethlisberger, who was 25 of 39 for 350 yards. “I’ve underthrown him in practice because when he gets running, he’s fast. I just put it out there, let him run under it, and he did the rest.”
You can read more here.
You can watch Ben’s post-game interview here.
And you can check out his highlights here, a few photos here.
“It was a lot of fun out there. It was a hard-fought game, it was far from easy. We expect that from those guys. We’ll see them in a couple of weeks.” — Ben
From […]
12 months a year of Pittsburgh?
Absolutely!! What a great holiday gift idea…and for a good cause!
After BIG demand from the Steelers faithful, our Pittsburgh cityscape photographer and friend, Dave Dicello has made his beautiful photography into a 2015 calendar.
The calendars are $25 each, and Dave is donating $1 from every calendar sale to WTAE’s Project Bundle Up.
You can see each image in this beautiful calendar as well as order yours right here.
“Pittsburgh. The Steel City. The City of Champions. The City of Bridges. It has many names, but I know it by one: home. Pittsburgh is the perfect combination of “big” city living and a small town feel. We have history in our steel mills, our sports teams and our culture that make us unique in terms of great American cities. The other thing that is great about the ‘Burgh from a photography standpoint is that no matter how you look at it, you are sure to have an incredible view. From high up on Mt. Washington or the West End Overlook, or down low on the North Shore or Point State Park, the views of my hometown rival some of the best in the world.
“But probably my favorite thing about Pittsburgh is the pride that the people who live there have. We are proud to say where we are from, proud to be from a city that was the keystone of industry in the United States for so many years. The people who leave here always want to come back, because there really isn’t any place quite like Pittsburgh anywhere else.” – Dave
Enjoy more of his breathtaking images – many of which he shares on Facebook & Twitter – of Heinz Field, PNC Park, and the Penguins on the ice, on the portfolio page of his website!
How about a Pittsburgh Skyline filled with chocolate? Oh yeah!!
The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation and Sarris Candies teamed up this NFL season to raise money for K-9 units across the country – and what a tasty way to do it!
To help involve the community in supporting Ben’s foundation, Sarris Candies has designed a cause-marketing program that allows chocolate lovers to purchase […]