Steelers/NFL
Does Ryan Clark approve of Ben Roethlisberger’s play vs the Jets? Roethlisberger produced his most efficient start of the season, going 23/30 for 264 yards and 1 touchdown in the Steelers 19-6 win over the Jets. The key line for Roethlisberger……No Turnovers.
“He made the necessary plays,” Mike Tomlin said of Roethlisberger’s play. “He was him. He did a great job of communicating. Sometimes when you are in hostile environments on the road it becomes difficult. Aside from his play I thought he did a nice job of communicating with players and staff in the midst of it all throughout the game,” Tomlin said.
In a game of field goals as Shaun Suisham kicked four field goals, the offense didn’t produce the killer turnover that had plagued in the previous four games.
“It’s a significant win for us to get that started for 2013,” Tomlin said. “I told the guys in the locker room there was nothing mystical about it. We maintained possession of the football and we got the football. In particular we got the football in the red area and that took points off the board. That was significant. Big splash plays defensively; maintained possession of the ball offensively. Hung together in the midst of the natural adversity football games present. Hopefully this is a springboard of things to come,” Tomlin said.
Antonio Brown had nine catches for 86 yards and Heath Miller had a breakout game catching six passes for 84 yards. Brown having an exceptional season, now has 41 receptions for 498 yards on the season and he also threw a 15 yard pass in the win.
The offense produced one touchdown and it was a big one with Roethlisberger connecting with Emmanuel Sanders on a 55 yard touchdown at 12:30 of the third quarter to put the Steelers up 16-6.
On the score the Jets were expecting run on 3rd and 1, but the Steelers went for the big play and connected as Sanders beat Antonio Cromartie inside and Roethlisberger hit him in stride for the score.
“I looked up and saw Emmanuel running by himself and kind of had to hesitate for a second because I couldn’t believe he was so wide open,” Roethlisberger said. “The only thought in my head was, `Don’t overthrow him.”
The Steelers did not run the ball well, gaining 73 yards on 26 yards, an average of 2.8 yards per carry. Le’Veon Bell struggled rushing for 34 yards on 16 carries. Bell did not show much burst and struggled with his reads as he missed a couple open holes.
The Steelers offensive line had a shaky start but got better as the game progressed. Roethlisberger was sacked 3 times.
Kelvin Beachum started at left tackle and Levi Brown was not an option to play after getting hurt in pregame warmups. Mike Adams was inactive and the Steelers only had six healthy offensive linemen during the game.
