Post Game wrap-up –
“For me, I don’t ever come into a game thinking, ‘This is payback or redemption’. I just want to win the game!” — Ben
From Tim Bontemps, New York Post:
The Jets managed to shut down the Steelers’ running game yesterday, but they couldn’t stop Ben Roethlisberger.
Despite seeing his rushing attack produce a paltry 66 yards on 28 carries, Roethlisberger masterfully drove the Steelers up and down the field all afternoon. He finished the game 24-fof-31 for 275 yards and two touchdowns to lead Pittsburgh to a 27-10 victory.
Roethlisberger’s 125.1 quarterback rating was the highest the Jets have allowed since Tom Brady had a 148.9 rating in the Patriots’ 45-3 rout on Dec. 6, 2010. Much of Roethlisberger’s damage came on third down: The Steelers finished the game 8-for-15 on third-down conversions, repeatedly extending drives and keeping the Jets’ defense on the field.
That helped the Steelers finish with a massive advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 36:36.
“You’re not going to beat a quarterback with a 125 rating and over 36 minutes with time of possession,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”
You can read more here.
“In the huddle Ben was telling us it was time to suck it up. He looked at everybody and said, ‘We’ll see what we’re made of right now. We’re going to run it down their throat.’ He told the o-line, ‘Get on your blocks and get some push,’ and the o-line got great push in that whole last drive and they were opening up holes.” — Isaac Redman
From Jim Corbett, USA Today:
This was a Roethlisberger game from the start to prevent the seething Steelers from starting 0-2 for the first time since 2002. With Pittsburgh’s two best defensive players, safety Troy Polamalu (calf) and linebacker James Harrison (knee), inactive with injuries and the run game sputtering, Roethlisberger didn’t disappoint.
The ninth-year quarterback fired a pair of touchdowns within a 7 minute, 19-second span to bring the high-flying Jets back to 1-1 and extend Pittsburgh’s streak of home-opening victories to 10 in a row.
“He was but it’s not like we’re surprised by it. We’ve come to expect that from him. He expects it from himself. He’s our guy and he delivered for us today. When you’re facing the kind of adversity we were faced with, redemption week if you will, we expect the ‘A’ players to step up and lead the charge and he is just that.” — Coach Tomlin, when asked about his quarterback’s sharpness.
A well-protected Roethlisberger tormented a Jets secondary minus its best player, cornerback Darrelle Revis, sidelined by a concussion. Roethlisberger ignited the game-turning, 11-play, 80-yard second-quarter drive culminating in his 1-yard scoring pass to tight end Heath Miller that put Pittsburgh up, 13-10. The difference in quarterback precision was accentuated when Roethlisberger hit 7 of 8 for 55 yards on that drive.
In the third quarter, Roethlisberger shrugged off linebacker David Harris’ blitz and fired a 37-yard, third-quarter scoring strike to receiver Mike Wallace.
That touchdown pass put Roethlisberger’s passing odometer at 27,020 yards as he joined Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw as the lone Steelers to pass for 27,000 yards.
You can read more here.
You can watch Ben’s post-game interview here.
You can watch video highlights of the game here.
And check out these great photos of Officer Kusak’s appearance at Sunday’s game!
Big Ben Stat:
Ben had the highest QB rating (125.1) for a Jets opponent since Tom Brady in December of 2010!
*Thank you to Mr. Wexell at Scout.com, and Ken Laird at the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.
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