Steelers Defeat Lions

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.

Polamalu and Mitchell look to forge bond

Pittsburgh Steelers One item was clearly out of place in the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room on the final day of minicamp. But Mike Mitchell said there was nothing to read into the Carolina Panthers helmet hanging in his locker on Thursday. "Pittsburgh Steelers It means I haven't found a house yet to put it in my basement," Mitchell said. The Panthers mailed Mitchell a helmet that many of his former teammates had signed, and there is some significance to the keepsake from the season he spent in Carolina. "That group that we had there last year I think the biggest thing that made us so successful is we were genuinely friends off the field and really cared about each other," Mitchell said. The Steelers' defensive players have generally been a tight group and that bodes well for the transition Mitchell is making on the field and away from it. Mitchell becomes just the third free safety to play regularly with Troy Polamalu, joining Chris Hope and Ryan Clark, and the two started to get to know one another during minicamp. "He's a super nice guy," Mitchell said. "It's humbling for me to see that because for him to be one of the best safeties to play the game he's a super humble guy. The way he treats people and goes about his business I admire that a lot. It's not even a football thing it's a personal thing I've noticed." Pittsburgh Steelers  Much has been made about the rapport Polamalu and Clark developed and how much it helped the two on the field. There is no reason to think that Polamalu and Mitchell won't build a similar friendship. Polamalu is a super nice guy when he is not chasing down running backs as if they stole something from him or soaring over the line of scrimmage and landing in the laps of startled quarterbacks. The eight-time Pro Bowler is one of the biggest pranksters in the Steelers' locker room, something that also endears him to teammates. Mitchell, meanwhile, is an engaging guy who wants to be great and relishes the opportunity to play with a safety of Polamalu's caliber. He is, in fact, a lot like Clark though with the volume turned down. "What made Chris Hope and I very successful on the back end is that we were great friends. The same thing with Ryan," Polamalu said, Pittsburgh Steelers "With any other team, it's just plug-and-play. But the strength of this organization has always been in the camaraderie and the relationships of the players off the field, Pittsburgh Steelers and then we stand up for one another on the field. So we have to develop those relationships." It will be a process with Polamalu and Mitchell and one that really starts when the Steelers report to training camp on July 25th. But Mitchell is confident that he and Polamalu will get to know one another well enough for them to thrive together on the field. "It's just us hammering out reps together," Pittsburgh Steelers Mitchell said. "I think you need a little adversity too because you can't really tell who a person is or how they're going to respond until you get into tough situations. Pittsburgh Steelers It could be a game until we really are on the same page now but it's a process of growing together so we can get to a point where I just know how thinks," Pittsburgh Steelers.