5-OH MY!!!
From KDKA-CBS:
Not yet Cleveland. At least, not in Pittsburgh.
James Conner ran for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Steelers battered the Browns in a 38-7 blowout victory on Sunday to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 1978. Ben Roethlisberger added 162 yards passing and a score.
Pittsburgh emphatically ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak and extended the Browns’ skid at Heinz Field to 17 and counting.
The Browns (4-2) were unable to get anything going against a defense that sacked aching Baker Mayfield four times, picked him off twice and chased him late in the third quarter with the game out of reach. The NFL’s top rushing offense managed 75 yards on the ground — 113 below its season average — as the Steelers dominated both sides of the line of scrimmage in easily their best performance in 2020.
Steelers begin a three-game road swing on Sunday when they visit the Titans. The game was originally scheduled for Oct. 4 before being moved while Tennessee dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak.
You can read more here.
“I’m glad I only have to play them on Wednesdays, Thursdays, little parts of practice when I’m not live.”
Big Ben was relieved to watch the @Steelers defense from the sideline today, not the line of scrimmage 😂 (@TracyWolfson) pic.twitter.com/b3DrN8JvDs
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2020
The Steelers’ 13-game regular-season home winning streak when facing a starting QB drafted No. 1 overall is the longest streak in NFL history. — Missi Matthews via Twitter.
Ref: Romo thinks [Claypool] got in.
Ben: Oh, it's in. Good job, Tony. Tony finally made a good call…Just joking, Antonio.
Tony: I can't believe he doubted me…like I was going to get one wrong. pic.twitter.com/bHxxG8FVZ3
— NFLonCBS (@NFLonCBS) October 18, 2020
Perfect for that Steelers-themed Christmas tree!
It’s time for another Lil’ Fan Friday!
You can see all of our Lil’ Fans here.
Cowher on Ben: ‘He’s Having A Lot Of Fun Playing The Game’
“He is playing really good football. He’s not forcing things. It’s a very unselfish group of receivers, you don’t hear anybody yelling, wanting the ball. He has just been able to sit there and take what the defense has been giving him and I think he’s having a lot of fun playing the game.” — Bill Cowher.
More from CBS Sports:
Fresh off a 38-29 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week, the Steelers sit atop the AFC North thanks to an unblemished 4-0 record. The defense has been strong and the offense has been rolling right along thanks to the return of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
After missing last season with an elbow injury, it was uncertain what the team would get out of the 38-year-old QB this season. Thus far, it’s been a career-best completion percentage (69.9%), touchdown percentage (7%) and interception percentage (0.7%). Though he’s topped 300 yards just once, but he hasn’t had to get into shootouts because of the strength of the defense.
Roethlisberger’s old coach, Super Bowl XL winner and The NFL Today analyst Bill Cowher says he believes the year off gave Big Ben some “renewed freshness” in approaching the game.
“Sometimes, you don’t appreciate something until it’s been taken away from you. What happened last year is, football was taken away from him,” said Cowher in an interview with CBS Local’s Ryan Mayer. “He sat on that sideline and watched a team that really transformed from an offensive team into a defensive team when they picked up Minkah Fitzpatrick, harnessed Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt, they got Tuitt back this year, he was out last year. Devin Bush is in his second year. It’s a very solid defense. And, all of a sudden, he sees these young receivers and he’s coming back into it with a renewed freshness and new perspective on things and a chance to do this again.”
That perspective, combined with an enviable arsenal of weapons at receiver and a solid offensive line have played a big part in Roethlisberger’s hot start to the season.
You can read the rest here.
Varley: ‘All Ben wants to do is win’
“I am just glad we are winning football games. You know me, it’s not about stats, it’s not about numbers, it’s about winning football games. Coming back from an injury, not playing last year, I was a little worried about my play and what was going to happen. I think I told you guys that before the first game, that my biggest concern was letting the team down and losing the game for them. I am just glad we are winning football games.” — Ben.
From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:
It’s not the first time he has said it this season, and it’s not going to be the last.
Ben Roethlisberger’s focus is simple.
He just wants to win.
Roethlisberger’s evaluation of his own play on a weekly basis has been very critical. He has been tougher on himself than anyone else on the team has been. But he is off to a strong start with 10 touchdown passes through four games and just one interception. You won’t hear him talking about that though, instead talking about the ones he missed.
Roethlisberger also mentioned the mental aspect of the game when he spoke on Wednesday morning.
“Sometimes when you get to this age, in life and in football, you have to find ways to win the game mentally as well,” said Roethlisberger. “That is what I am trying to do.”
Roethlisberger said one area of his game he is really trying to work on this year is not turning the ball over, with just one interception. He will be challenged this week going against the Cleveland Browns, who have an NFL high 12 takeaways so far this season, including six interceptions.
“I am just trying not to turn the ball over,” said Roethlisberger. “Obviously not putting up big passing numbers, yards per attempt, all of those things. For me I just don’t want to turn the ball over. That is the biggest thing I am trying to work on. That is going to be the biggest thing this week because I think this team leads the league in turnovers.”
He also wants to try and connect better on his deep passes, something he isn’t hesitating to attempt, but something that hasn’t gotten to the point where he is pleased yet.
“I am not shying away from throwing it, I just want to connect on it a little more,” said […]
4 – OH YEAH!!
He works. He works hard. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and if he does make a mistake, he doesn’t make it twice. He’s talented. He has some God-given abilities not many people in this world have. I am really proud of the way he is playing right now.” — Ben, on Chase Claypool.
Big Ben threw three touchdowns…all to Chase Claypool, who also ran in another one for six. The Steelers remain unbeaten as they took down the Philadelphia Eagles 38-29 in the Battle of Pennsylvania today.
7/11 … always open. pic.twitter.com/vkv49AK6vL
— Chase Claypool (@ChaseClaypool) October 11, 2020
The Steelers, who built a 17-point lead in the third quarter but didn’t seal it until Claypool’s fourth touchdown with 2:39 left, is 4-0 for the first time since 1979.
“It’s always important to get out early because you don’t know what the season holds. There is a lot of football ahead of us. We have to continue to play football and be there for each other.” — Ben.
Ben finished 27 of 34 for 239 yards and three touchdowns with a passer rating of 125.4. In four games, he has thrown 10 touchdowns and just one interception.
Chase Claypool became the fourth NFL rookie since the 1970 merger to have two receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in the same game, and is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week!
4-0‼️ this team is amazing even through adversity we prevail! #HereWeGo
— Eric Ebron (@Ebron85) October 11, 2020
You can see highlights from today’s game here.
Before the game:
‘Terry Bradshaw spoke from the heart about what a difference interviewing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made in helping the pair of Steelers Super Bowl winning quarterbacks forge a relationship.’ – FOX Sports.