Pittsburgh Steelers Backed
up and fed up, Ben Roethlisberger provided a vivid reminder to his critics and
the Detroit Lions of just how dangerous he and his suddenly surging team
remain. Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback passed for 367
yards and four touchdowns, Pittsburgh Steelers including two in the final 5
minutes as the Steelers rallied to beat the Lions 37-27. Pittsburgh Steelers The
victory capped a contentious week in which Roethlisberger refuted speculation
he may seek a trade in the offseason and rumors the franchise would like him to
take a more "cerebral" approach to the game. Pittsburgh Steelers He
responded by calling most of the plays against an aggressive but immature
defense as Pittsburgh put together its most
productive offensive day in more than two years. Pittsburgh Steelers "It
feels awesome to win it the way we did," Roethlisberger said mounting the
31st comeback victory of his 10-year career. Roethlisberger led the Steelers 97
yards for the go-ahead touchdown after the Lions botched a fake field-goal
attempt early in the fourth quarter, hitting Will Johnson for a 1-yard
touchdown to put Pittsburgh
up 30-27 with 4:46 remaining. Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh safety Will Allen
picked off Matthew Stafford on Detroit's next possession and returned it to
the Lions 30. Five plays later Roethlisberger lobbed a 20-yard strike to
Jerricho Cotchery to extend the cushion to 10 points as the Steelers (4-6) won
their second straight to keep the Lions (6-4) winless in Pittsburgh for 58 years and counting. Pittsburgh
Steelers Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 147 yards and two scores and Pittsburgh's defense rebounded from a horrific second
quarter to hold high-powered Detroit
in check during the second half. Stafford
threw for 362 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, surpassing Bobby
Layne's team record for career passing yards in the process. Calvin Johnson
hauled in six passes for 179 yards and both scores, but Detroit's two stars disappeared over the
final 30 minutes. The Steelers limited Stafford
to just 3 of 16 passing after halftime, while Johnson was shut out. "We
knew they'd make plays and get yards," Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh safety Ryan
Clark said.
"We just wanted to make plays and stop them when it counted and we were
able to do that." Still, the Lions entered the fourth quarter with the
lead thanks to a 27-point deluge in the second quarter. Detroit had a chance to push the advantage to
a touchdown. But rather than have David Akers attempt
a short field goal, the Lions opted to run a fake. Holder Sam Martin, however,
fumbled while fighting for the necessary 5 yards and the Steelers recovered. "I
got hit by a 350-pound man," Martin said. "I don't think I had the
first down, but regardless, that guy made a great play." The Lions
appeared to take control of the NFC North with a win on the road at Chicago
last week but let the momentum vanish during a meek second half in which they
appeared rattled by soggy conditions at Heinz Field and their own mind-boggling
success during the highest-scoring second quarter in franchise history. "We
just didn't execute," Stafford said.
"That's what it boils down to." Detroit's
collapse was hard to imagine following a dazzling 15 minutes in which Johnson
and Stafford did whatever they wanted,
whenever they wanted. Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor said last week he couldn't
wait for the chance to go "mano-a-mano" with the NFL's best receiver.
Like nearly every player who has lined up across the line of scrimmage from
Johnson over last three years, the matchup looked like a mismatch. At least,
for a while. Detroit
spotted the Steelers an early 14-0 lead and just 6:37 to set a franchise record
for points in a quarter. Johnson, as he tends to be, was right in the middle of
it. He started the onslaught with an impossibly easy 79-yard touchdown, taking
a heave from Stafford at the Pittsburgh 40 and then practically jogging into
the end zone to make it 14-10. Pittsburgh Steelers Johnson was at it again the
next time the Lions had the ball, beating the coverage to the inside for a
19-yard score to tie the game at 17. Pittsburgh Steelers Taylor became so
frustrated that at one point he was flagged for holding and pass interference
on Johnson on consecutive plays late in the first half, though the penalties
served their purpose. Pittsburgh Steelers Rather than get a last-second touchdown
to go up by 10 at the break, the Lions were forced to kick a field goal and
settle for a 27-20 lead. Just as abruptly as the eruption began, Pittsburgh
Steelers it stopped. Detroit
did little in the second half while the Steelers stoked for another week at
least whatever flickering hopes they have of getting back to . Pittsburgh
Steelers 500 and perhaps beyond. "We've got to keep this thing
going," Cotchery said. "Our margin for error is nonexistent right
now. We feel good about this team and we're going to keep grinding." Game
Notes: Pittsburgh
Steelers Stafford now has 16,005 career passing yards to blow past Layne's
club record of 15,710. Pittsburgh Steelers Stafford's first touchdown pass to
Johnson was the 100th of his career. Pittsburgh Steelers He reached the plateau
in his 55th career game, the fourth-fastest in NFL history. Pittsburgh Steelers
Johnson has gone over 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, Pittsburgh Steelers
tying Herman Moore's club record. Cotchery has a career-high seven touchdowns, Pittsburgh
Steelers.
