Week 7: Steelers 19, Ravens 16
Big win for Big Ben and the Steelers!
“To get the ball tied with time [left] and two timeouts, you just have confidence. I told the guys ‘Let’s go, this is on us to win it’, can’t be any doubt. I want those guys to see the confidence from me. Everyone believed. It’s big when you all believe, and you buy into what we’re doing. I think we did a good job of that.” — Ben
From the AP‘s Will Graves post-game:
Shaun Suisham remains perfect. Now, his imperfect team is showing signs of pulling out of its massive early season hole.
Ben Roethlisberger completed 17 of 23 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. He hit Antonio Brown for a pair of big gains on Pittsburgh’s final drive, putting Suisham well within range to win it. Running back Le’Veon Bell ran for a season-high 93 yards on 19 carries.
The Ravens trailed all day but finally ran the Steelers down when Flacco guided a 16-play, 73-yard drive that ended when the quarterback hit Clark in the back of the end zone to tie the game at 16 with 1:58 to go.
“It’s about time! It’s about time we do a fourth quarter drive!” — Ben
The Steelers nearly went back in front immediately when Emmanuel Sanders picked up the ensuing kickoff in the back of the end zone and raced down the right sideline all the way to the end zone. Officials, however, ruled he stepped out at the Pittsburgh 37.
In the end, it didn’t matter.
Roethlisberger led the Steelers 39 yards in seven plays, finding Brown for gains of 11 and 13 yards. Suisham remained perfect on the season, improving to 14 of 14 on the year when his kick went right down the middle.
You can read more from Mr. Graves here.
You can watch & listen to Ben’s post-game interview here.
And you can also check out a few photos from the game here.
Make it a Steelers Halloween
And share it with Ben!
Do you have a Big Ben going out for Halloween or perhaps attending a costume party this year?
Send us their photo, we’d love to post it in Ben’s Steelers Halloween album!
That’s Garrett Cagle and Zac Godfrey at left getting ready to head out for a night of Trick or Treating!
Now what if your Trick or Treater is going as Troy Polamalu or Heath Miller, Brett Keisel or maybe even a little Terrible Towel?
That’s fine too! Oh, and big kids are also welcome!
Snap a photo of ’em, send it via email and we’ll add it to the album too!
Do you decorate your home and yard for Halloween with a little Steelers flair?
Then you’ve come to the right place to show it off!
That’s Amanda Marie Doerr’s beautifully painted pumpkin at left. She shared it with us on the site’s Twitter page this evening.
“I did it free hand,” Amanda Marie said. “And I am definitely not an artist!”. We respectfully disagree with you! It’s a work of art!
Feel free to send photos of your Steelers-themed Halloween decorations, like this Big Ben carved pumpkin!
And don’t forget your four-legged and costumed Trick or Treaters – we have plenty of room for them in the Halloween album too!
The door bell was ringing non-stop at the Roethlisberger house the past two years
…and Ben & Ashley shared their photos with you!
In fact, trick or treaters were showing up at the door as fast as Ben was sending the photos the last two Halloweens!
Ashley handed out the candy and Ben was snapping the photos to share of spooky, funny, scary, and funny kids that showed up at the house of #7 and family.
Benjamin Jr. won’t know what the heck is going on at his house this year! But if he’s as tough as his dad, he won’t be scared at all!
You can see their collection of photos in Ben’s personal album from 2011 here and from 2012 here (bottom of page 3 & top of page 4)!
*If you would like to share photos this […]
Big Ben talks Ravens
“I enjoy this rivalry. I know it sounds crazy but I enjoy two of the best teams going at it.” — Ben
During his regular Wednesday interview with the media, Ben was asked about the game this weekend, the new faces on the Ravens this season…and one very familiar face!
From Matt Vensel, The Baltimore Sun:
Terrell Suggs has hammered Ben Roethlisberger many times over the past decade. In fact, no player has sacked Roethlisberger more often than Suggs, who has topped Big Ben 15.5 times during his career.
Yet, despite the punishing hits that Suggs has given him over the years, Roethlisberger stood in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room Wednesday and tossed verbal bouquets in the rush linebacker’s direction.
“I respect him. I respect the way he play the game,” Roethlisberger said. “He plays it hard and he plays it physical, but he also respects the players. If he hits you and hits you hard, he’ll love it, but he wants to make sure you’re OK because he wants you to keep playing because he wants to keep hitting you.
Roethlisberger added, “He doesn’t have a dirty attitude like some of these young guys coming into the league at linebacker and [other] defensive players have. He has a respect for the players and the game, and I respect that.”
Minutes before Roethlisberger held court in the Steelers locker room, Suggs had told Pittsburgh reporters on a Wednesday conference call about how much respect he has for the way the quarterback plays.
“This guy won two Super Bowl championships. He played in three,” Suggs said. “The guy is a winner. I think I like that he has his own style. He’s not like those other [top quarterbacks]. He’s Big Ben. You can’t do anything but respect a guy like that and his physical play.”
You can read more from Mr. Vensel here.
You can watch & listen to more from Ben’s interview here! You can read the transcription here.
Exciting news to share with our Steeler Nation family
…..and then there were four!
We are both excited and blessed to announce that we’re expecting baby #2 in the spring! — Ben & Ashley.
What does Benjamin, Jr. think of this whole ‘new baby in the house’ idea?
He’s already preparing to be a protective big brother (but will also keep a close eye on his favorite toys)!
*Thanks to Aunt Carlee for taking the awesome photos!
93.7 The Fan: The Ben Roethlisberger Show
Ben was on the air in his regular time slot this morning at 11:00 AM as part of 93.7 The Fan’s Vinnie & Cook Show.
Some of the highlights:
On Sunday’s win against the Jets –
It really felt good. Hopefully, the winning is contagious. Hopefully, the attitude carries over. Right now, we’re not sitting here thinking about the win on Sunday. Right now, we’re moving forward.
On playing the Ravens this Sunday –
I’m going in on Monday, I started getting some early prep in, and not seeing #20’s name up on the board in the secondary, and not seeing #52, but they still have some guys. They still have Suggs, I always look forward to playing Suggs – I know it sounds crazy cause he’s one of the best. He hits hard and does some very good things on defense. I enjoy playing the best and competitors like that.
On playing the Ravens over the years –
It’s always a physical game, it’s tough. It’s just as taxing mentally as it is physically. After the game your body feels like it’s been through a hundred car wrecks, or train wrecks…After these games, win or lose, you just sit down and take a deep sigh. Your mind feels relaxed.
His thoughts on the Houston Texans fans who cheered when Matt Schaub was injured –
It’s truly, truly unfortunate. Booing when somebody gets hurt, it was just sickening. It’s just so hard to understand, especially your home crowd. I remember when Rashard [Mendenhall] got hurt in Cleveland, we heard some cheers. To me, that’s kind of the same philosophy.
When people were showing up at [Shaub’s] house to do negative things, that’s cause for some action from the player. That’s your family. When we’re on that field and we’re in that stadium you can boo, you can yell at us but when we step outside we’re human beings just like everybody else. We’ve got feelings, we’ve got family.
I think in that situation you just have to approach it like, ‘You know what, I’m going to play for my teammates, my brothers, my coaches’ and on his mind he has to sit there and say it wasn’t every fan. He has to take the mindset that there’s still a bunch of fans out there that are rooting for me, supporting me and that would be the […]
Steelers win 19-6 against New York Jets
“Ben Roethlisberger (113.8 QB rating) was his old resourceful self.” — Steve Serby on why the Jets lost, from his column in the NY Post.
More from the Jets point of view…
Courtesy of Rich Cermini, ESPN.com:
The New York Jets tried to make the day all about their defensive line.
Marty Lyons, a former member of the New York Sack Exchange, was inducted into the Ring of Honor at halftime. An honorary captain, he participated in the coin toss, flanked by former “New York Sack Exchange” teammates Mark Gastineau and Joe Klecko. Every member of the current defensive line joined the group, a link to then and now. It was as if the Jets were trying to send a message to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who had been struggling with pass protection.
But the Steelers got the last laugh.
The Jets finished with four sacks, but the 19-6 loss will be remembered for the one that got away. On the Steelers’ second possession, Muhammad Wilkerson blew a chance to get a safety. He had Ben Roethlisberger in his clutches in the end zone, but Big Ben slithered away and threw a harmless incompletion.
“That’s a big guy,” Wilkerson told ESPN New York 98.7 FM. “We talked about it all week. I went up high on him, knowing I should’ve kind of went low. But he’s a great quarterback. He slipped away and made the play for them.”
It was a scoreless game. The Jets missed a great opportunity to seize the early momentum.
“If we get a safety there, we’re up, 2-0, and those plays usually result in a nine-point turnaround,” coach Rex Ryan said.
The Jets got good pressure on Roethlisberger in the second quarter, sacking him twice on one series. It looked as if they were going to dominate the Steelers’ rebuilt offensive line, which included a new starter at left tackle, Kelvin Beachum. But the Steelers adjusted nicely, shifting to a quick-passing game. That offset the Jets’ pass rush.
Roethlisberger finished 23-for-30, with 264 yards and a touchdown pass.
“They were trying to get the ball out of his hand pretty quickly, there’s no question,” Ryan said. “If you look at the start of the game, they had four or five screens almost in the first 10 plays. They […]