Ben Roethlisberger is a true winner. A proven warrior. He makes the plays at the beginning, middle and end of the game to get the job done. Consistency equates to victories.
This past Sunday, the Steelers defeated the Jets by a score of 24-19. Ben Roethlisberger did not have the greatest statistical game of his career. But, he moved the ball to consume clock.
Play calling won and lost the game for both teams. The Steelers made the precise and gutsy play calls at the precise time. The Jets made the erroneous play calls at the wrong times.
The game proved to be a tale of two halves. The Steelers completely dominated the first half. They led 24-3 at halftime. In the second half, the Jets had figured out how to score and hold Pitt. However, it was too late.
Throughout the game, the Steelers were the more physical team. Behind Rashard Mendenhall in the first half, Pitt. ran through a tired-looking defense. They were getting worthy pushes on the line and exploding through holes. Pitt conquered time of possession, having the ball for over 21 minutes.
The Jets had a strenuous time running the ball in the first half. Tomlinson finished the game with nine carries for 16 yards. Shonne Greene finished with nine carries for 52 yards. I cannot comprehend why the two had the same amount of carries. Greene runs over defenders and falls for excess yards on close to every touch. I feel you need to go with your dominant back at some point. New York had a whopping 12 total yards before their last drive in the first half with a minute left.
The game concluded with abysmal play calling for New York. At the end of an eight-minute drive, they failed to get the ball into the end zone on two downs from the two-yard line. Two run plays needed to be called to power into the end zone.
It is arduous to overthrow a dominant team on their home field twice in five weeks. The Jets were unable to do so. Big Ben and the Pittsburgh Steelers will attempt to win their third Super Bowl in the past six seasons.
Aaron Rodgers has made Packers fans forget about Brett Favre. Like Roethlisberger, this wasn’t Rodgers most paramount game. Nonetheless, the Packers were able to topple the Bears by a score of 21-14.
The Bears were down 14-0 early in the first half. They then got into a habit of strictly passing the ball. They failed to allow their run game to get involved. Forte was running well previously. Jay Cutler failed miserably to move the ball while he was in the game. He was removed in the early part of the third quarter, due to a medial collateral ligament sprain.
Current and former players around the league have ripped Cutler. His coach and team have all rallied behind him. I see nothing wrong with Cutler not returning. No one knows how badly his knee hurt except himself.
Therefore, we cannot criticize him for that. Having said that, Jay Cutler has character issues. If this is the biggest game of one’s life, one will find another way to get involved in the game. At that point, Cutler needed to bring any energy mentally he was unable to bring physically. It is just the right thing to do as a teammate.
The Green Bay Packers offense was terrific as it has been all season. Sunday, their volatile defense played with such fire and vigor that it was astonishing to capture.
Their secondary attacked footballs and their line got after the quarterback. The Pack had an unlikely hero who made some keen plays on defense. Undrafted rookie cornerback Sam Shields tallied a forced fumble, a sack and two interceptions.
Third String Quarterback Caleb Hanie provided a spark off the bench for the Bears. He gave them hope to get back in the ballgame. He drove down the field with under three minutes left. Unfortunately for the third-stringer, he threw a fourth down pick to end the game with Chicago being down a score.
Tim Shanahan can be reached at tshanahan@spartans.ut.edu.