Big Ben throws for 417, Steelers beat Browns 27-14

By ALAN ROBINSON, AP Sports Writer Oct 18, 6:28 pm EDT

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PITTSBURGH (AP)—No matter how you measure it, the Cleveland Browns can’t beat the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ben Roethlisberger(notes) threw two touchdown passes in an increasingly wide-open Pittsburgh offense and the Steelers benefited from a debatable first-down measurement to beat the rival Browns 27-14 on Sunday, their 12th consecutive victory against their oldest rival.

Roethlisberger, second in the league in passing and on pace for what would easily be his best statistical season, was 23 of 35 for 417 yards in his second career 400-yard game. Hines Ward(notes) made eight catches for 159 yards and a touchdown, Santonio Holmes(notes) had five for 104 and tight end Heath Miller(notes) caught his fourth TD pass in three games.

“He’s in total command of the offense,” coach Mike Tomlin said of Roethlisberger, who has thrown for 1,887 yards and 10 touchdowns in six games. “It’s fun to watch.”

Even if all the turnovers weren’t—four for each team, including two apiece in a span of 1:25 late in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh outgained Cleveland 543-197, yet the Steelers led only 17-14 in the third quarter. And they might not have had that lead if they hadn’t been given a first down after Roethlisberger looked to be stopped inches short on a fourth-down sneak from Cleveland’s 14 late in the second quarter.

TV replays appeared to show the ball short of the stick on a play in which Roethlisberger tried to lure Cleveland offside before slamming headfirst into the middle of the defense. As the Browns players yelled and began running off the field, referee Walt Anderson surprised both teams by signaling first down.

“It was a close play—and we got lucky,” Roethlisberger said.

“I saw all the Cleveland guys arguing and yelling, so it was, well, the referee knows the rules better than I do,” tackle Max Starks(notes) said. “If he says first down, it’s a first down.”

Even if the Browns, obviously, didn’t think it was.

“He made the call; you have to live with it,” linebacker David Bowens(notes) said. “I don’t know if there was (an explanation). He just said first down and that’s it.”

Anderson explained the TV angle might have been deceptive.

“If you shot that angle from the other side, it might actually look like it’s further in advance of the stake of what it was,” said Anderson, who was certain the call was correct.

Roethlisberger’s apparent 13-yard TD pass to Ward two plays later was overturned on replay because the ball came out of Ward’s hands as he rolled out of bounds, and Pittsburgh settled for the field goal.

Because of the first-down ruling, the Browns trailed 17-14 instead of being tied after driving for only their fourth touchdown on offense in 12 games— they’ve lost 11—on Derek Anderson’s(notes) 1-yard pass to Lawrence Vickers(notes) early in the third quarter.

Anderson was 9 of 24 for 122 yards.

“We’re not trying to lose every time we go out here,” Anderson said, referring to Cleveland’s 1-9 record in Heinz Field. “We put tons of hours in and … it’s frustrating. Every single week, it’s frustrating.”

The Steelers, winning their third in a row, made it 24-14 when Roethlisberger hit Ward for 45 yards and Mike Wallace(notes) for 21 ahead of Rashard Mendenhall’s(notes) 2-yard touchdown run.

“I think we haven’t played our best ball yet and that’s pretty comforting,” Miller said. “We’ve gotten a few wins here without playing our best.”

The Browns’ other score came on Joshua Cribbs’(notes) 98-yard kickoff return late in the second quarter that followed Roethlisberger’s touchdown passes of 8 yards to Miller and 52 to Ward. Cribbs ran untouched along the Steelers’ sideline for his club-record eighth kick return score, six on kickoff returns, and his third against the Steelers.

“I heard `Return one for me’ from 1,000 fans back home in Cleveland and I got up for this game,” Cribbs said.

After the flurry of turnovers, Reed kicked a 39-yard field goal, and the Browns gave the ball back yet again—their fourth turnover and 32nd in 12 games — when Anderson was intercepted by Ryan Clark(notes).

Cribbs also was intercepted, by Troy Polamalu(notes), out of the wildcat formation during the first half.

Notes: The Steelers hadn’t produced 500 yards in 50 games—while beating Cleveland 27-7 in 2006. … The Steelers have won 18 of 19 against the Browns, counting a playoff game. … Polamalu, who missed four games with a torn left knee ligament, discarded his protective brace after the pregame warmups. … Browns LB Kamerion Wimbley(notes) (flu-like symptoms) did not play after having a sack in three consecutive games. LB D’Qwell Jackson(notes) left in the second half with an unspecified shoulder injury. … Roethlisberger threw for 433 yards during a 31-20 loss to Denver in 2006.

Updated Oct 18, 6:28 pm EDT
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Head to Head - Week 6

Team Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds First Downs 3rdD% Pen./Yds Turnovers Time of Poss.
Cleveland 197 106 91 12 38.5% 4/45 4 23:14
Pittsburgh 543 403 140 28 36.4% 4/30 4 36:46
NFL

273 Comments

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  1. No dupe
    273. Posted by No dupe Wed Oct 21 5:40pm EDT

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    When are people going to learn that you can not just change the result of one play and then say all the other plays would have been the same. The writer says that the game would have been tied 14-14 if the Steelers had not gotten that 1st down on the Roethlisberger sneak. That simply isn't true. If the score after half had been 14-7 instead of 17-7, who is say how the Steelers defense plays the game, calls plays. Maybe they play more aggresively. Maybe they cause a turnover and the score stays 14-7. So often people assume that if one play was changed (a disallowed TD, a bad call, whatever) then the rest of the game would have played the same, and their team would have won.

    That's total crap. In reality, when one play is changed, the whole dynamic of a game can be changed. Both teams might play differently. For example, an offense might play more aggressively because they are well behind, and a defense may play more loosely because they have a big lead. Dallas fans have whined that if Jackie Smith hadn't dropped a sure TD in SB13, then the final score would have been 38-35 instead of 35-31. But Pittsburgh had a 35-17 lead with 4 minutes to play. They played with an 18-point lead with 4 minutes left. If it had been an 11-point lead, they would have played differently. So Smith dropping that pass may have changed the game at that point, but you can't just tack it on the final result and assume evrything else goes unchanged. Unless the play in question is the final play of the game or the deciding play, like in the tuck rule game. In that game Brady's fumble gives Oakland the ball with the lead with little time left and it's game over.
  2. d-dawg
    272. Posted by d-dawg Wed Oct 21 12:08pm EDT

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    Left tackle Max Starks may not face a tougher test this year than trying to keep Jared Allen off of Ben's back on Sunday. Allen, the outspoken former binge drinker turned sober defensive end formerly of the Chiefs, already has 7.5 sacks on the year. His previous two year total of 30 sacks (15.5 in '07, 14.5 in '08) has to be one of the top marks in the league over that time span. Allen is the ideal combination of strength, speed and intelligence. He can run you over, beat you to the outside with an incredible first step and tremendous balance, and he's savvy enough to know what you're trying to do to him and capable of adjusting on the fly quickly. Simply put, he's the best pass rushing defensive end Max Starks has faced all year. He's arguably the best he will face for the remainder of the season.

    Go Vikings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  3. Christopher T
    271. Posted by Christopher T Wed Oct 21 5:07am EDT

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    Take away the disputed first down and ensuing field goal, the score is 24-14 steelers. Browns fans, u just suck, deal with it.
  4. stephanie
    270. Posted by stephanie Tue Oct 20 12:16pm EDT

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    i love how brownie fans b*tch and moan about that 1st down call. how about Hines' TD that got called back??? should have given us 4 extra points (since we kicked a field goal). BTW, that one first down (which ended up producing a field goal I believe) wasn't the reason you lost. you lost because your team is terrible. you have a terrible coach. you don't run a REAL PROFESSIONAL OFFENSE- give the wildcat BS back to college football. shows exactly how good your QB is having him line up at WR 50% of the plays. run a real offense- the wildcat, along with the option belong in high school and college, not in the pros.

    come back when you can play with the big boys. brownie fans, i'd pray for them to relocate the team AGAIN so you can rid yourself of the embarrassment!
  5. chrisatmet
    269. Posted by chrisatmet Tue Oct 20 2:01am EDT

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    We Browns fans have become a pathetic lot. Whining and @#$%ing about refs and the NFL 'helping' the Steelers win...Whatever! What we should be doing is coming to terms with the fact that we SUCK, our fat coach has NO CLUE what he is doing, the team is moving in the absolute wrong direction, and statistically, we have the 2nd worst QB in the league...And he is only slightly better than JaMarcus Russell, who did outplay him this past weekend. We need to stop @#$%ing about being treated unfairly by all of the outsiders, and place blame where it really belongs...With the OWNERSHIP group. Until we insist that they stop putting $HIT on the field and calling it the Cleveland Browns, NOTHING will change!

    And if Marcus is on this thread, yes, go ahead and tell me what a BQ lover I am and how great DA really is, regardless of stats.
  6. hatchetwounder
    268. Posted by hatchetwounder Tue Oct 20 12:30am EDT

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    You people are so hilarious! I am sooo entertained to read so many of you arguing and insulting one another over @#$% sports.

    The real ball -slapper here is when somene notes, "my" or "our" team. Really now? REALLY?
    You have an ownership stake/percentage in any of these teams?

    Hell, ownership would not have anything to do with you uneducated, puss-gutted, untalented, ball-scratchin',
    fart-in-the-wife's face knuckleheads. In fact, they keep on laughing all the way to the bank with your blue-collar nickles! LMAO at the short-bus sports fan! =D
  7. hatchetwounder
    267. Posted by hatchetwounder Tue Oct 20 12:29am EDT

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    You people are so hilarious! I am sooo entertained to read so many of you arguing and insulting one another over @#$% sports.

    The real ball -slapper here is when somene notes, "my" or "our" team. Really now? REALLY?
    You have an ownership stake/percentage in any of these teams?

    Hell, ownership would not have anything to do with you uneducated, puss-gutted, untalented, ball-scratchin',
    fart-in-the-wife's face knuckleheads. In fact, they keep on laughing all the way to the bank with your blue-collar nickles! LMAO at the short-bus sports fan! =D
  8. d-dawg
    266. Posted by d-dawg Mon Oct 19 11:37pm EDT

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    Look out Steelers, Vikings are coming to town.
    Go Vikings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. Sarion
    265. Posted by Sarion Mon Oct 19 7:34pm EDT

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    Way to make bull excuses. It was a bad call, period. Typical Stealers. I almost feel bad for Browns fans.
  10. Wizard
    264. Posted by Wizard Mon Oct 19 3:49pm EDT

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    mjhst67

    It was the camera angle. If you look (I taped it and looked about ten times), the flag stick and ball are not lined up right at each other. If you were to approach it from the other side (around the goal line, not the fifty), you would see that the ball is over by about two inches. But, they did not show that angle. They probably do not have that angle, as the players are in the way to get a good shot. The refs have to move the players back to get any angle at all for the camera. It did look short on TV, but was not. It was the angle.
  11. ricks
    263. Posted by ricks Mon Oct 19 3:38pm EDT

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    The Winner is a loser. He is always on the pittsburgh steeler site talking smack. He is infatuated with the steelers and jerks off down in his basement wearing a Terry Bradshaw jersey. He just has resentment ever since he was denied an autograph by Kordell Stewart at a gay bar and has been hell bent and butt hurt ever since.
  12. Swearengen
    262. Posted by Swearengen Mon Oct 19 2:18pm EDT

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    This season is starting to remind me of 2004, where the Steelers face 2 undefeated teams in back-to-back weeks (back then it was the Eagles-Patriots or vice-versa) and this year it could be the Vikings-Broncos. Regardless, the Steelers have to cut back on the turnovers if they are going to go far this year. Half the battle is recognizing their deficiancies, and it appears that they have done that already - see Heath Miller's comments after the game. As for the offensive game plan, I am fine giving the ball to Ben and letting him win the game for us. Too many offensive weapons for the Steelers. Pass to setup the run. If the run doesn't work - pass again. Steelers D will improve once Troy gets back to form. I have no worries about this team right now besides fumblitis.
  13. yinz
    261. Posted by yinz Mon Oct 19 1:28pm EDT

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    re: post 3257,

    mjhst67, I dunno... looked to me like the TV camera might've been at an angle from further upfield, rather than straight down the line (which might've made it appear that there was space between the ball & the marker when there might not've been), but who knows... all I know is that the Browns D coordinator probably had a better look, and he sure was droppin' some f-bombs on the refs... I'm thiking that the subsequent ruling to take away the Ward TD might've been a "make-up" call...

    Well, someday, Cleveland will have a good enough team that blown calls will matter...
  14. ROBERT S
    260. Posted by ROBERT S Mon Oct 19 1:18pm EDT

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    I am a life time steelers fan and hope they can do it again,but, it looks like the best team in the AFC at this point is Indianapolis Colts.
  15. ROBERT S
    259. Posted by ROBERT S Mon Oct 19 1:15pm EDT

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    Hey winner, The Pats would only have 2 superbowl wins if not for the worst call ever in the playoffs. "The tuck rule" that rule had NEVER been called in any NFL game before that play.
  16. <i>mjhst67</i>
    258. Posted by mjhst67 Mon Oct 19 1:13pm EDT

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    Does anybody know why the Steelers were given the First Down after the chains showed that they were short by an inch on the 4th down conversion? The announcers were talking about it but never gave an explanation.
  17. RichardM
    257. Posted by RichardM Mon Oct 19 1:07pm EDT

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    Can the Browns just pick now for next year's draft. Can we have two picks pleaze. This is a race with the Titans. now...
  18. <i>mjhst67</i>
    256. Posted by mjhst67 Mon Oct 19 1:06pm EDT

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    Desperate, for what? We have played in 7 Super Bowls and won 6, we compete every year for the division title and the AFC title. Yes we lost twice to the Patriots and I believe we had better players at the time and Cowher was out-coached by BB. That being said, we were playing with Kordell Stewart!

    I'd love to see another Patriots Steelers game.
  19. Nostradamus
    255. Posted by Nostradamus Mon Oct 19 12:56pm EDT

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    251- Yea I have a question- Why are Pitt. fans so desperate? Is it because of that 25 year drought, and then watching the Patriots beat them 2x in the playoffs, head to head over the last 10 years? And another question, why do Steeler fans celebrate regular season games like they get awards? If you lose in the playoffs, (look up 2001, 2004) it really doesn't matter what you did during the season... The Steelers have 1 more championship then 2 other teams- If you are going to set the bar, you might want to set it higher, and then run you mouth (keyboard)...
  20. yinz
    254. Posted by yinz Mon Oct 19 12:54pm EDT

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    Thanks, #250. I guess that's the rule. But, it seems like this leaves a bigger-than-necessary gray area for subjective official judgement regarding what constitutes the "end of a play".

    I think they oughtta adjust the rule to make it clearly state that nothing that happens once a player has gone off the field-of-play matters. Then, all the refs would have to do is decide WHETHER a player, WHEN he loses control of the ball, is off the field-of-play, i.e., over the sideline or end-line boundary (which seems like it'd usually be a cleaner/easier/ more objective video determination).

    As it now stands, you've got the refs trying to make a more subjective judgement call re: how far a play goes on AFTER a player has left the in-bounds playing field until the actual "end of the play" [whenever he stops rolling, or slips on a hot-dog-wrapper & falls, or whatever] -- implying that a play can somehow continue after the player has gone out of bounds, which seems sort of strange...
  21. Nostradamus
    253. Posted by Nostradamus Mon Oct 19 12:51pm EDT

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    Hey Scott- you proved my point. You beat the Browns and the Lions, and the Patriots beat (very F-in badly) the Titans. Both teams have the same record, although the Patriots have played tougher teams. Difference is you beat the Titans by 3, Lions by 8, and the Browns by 13. Very dominating...
  22. <i>mjhst67</i>
    252. Posted by mjhst67 Mon Oct 19 12:41pm EDT

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    226 - dumus (stupid name) - Congrats again on winning 2 SB in the last 30 years. ....How many have the Patsy's won 3? Very nice, 3 more and you can compete with Pittsburgh and Dallas.

    Pittsburgh has won the most Championships in the NFL....any questions?
  23. ..
    251. Posted by .. Mon Oct 19 12:31pm EDT

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    if a player is untouched he has to maintain control to the end of the play no matter where he ends up - if there is contact in the endzone the reciever has to maintain control with 2 feet inbounds contact can knock the ball out and it is still a catch - no contact you can not drop the ball at all
  24. yinz
    250. Posted by yinz Mon Oct 19 12:28pm EDT

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    Correction re: my post #247: Sentence should've read:
    "Is there guidance as to how many rolls must a player complete while out-of-bounds, and/or how far from the field of play must the player be, before he can relinquish the ball without having the touchdown overturned?" [I forgot to type "overturned"]

    and should've said "clean" up, not "cean" at the end. Sorry, folks.
  25. ..
    249. Posted by .. Mon Oct 19 12:24pm EDT

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    Pit can not win without the help of officials - what a joke every game pit gets the calls - its an absolute joke - i have not seen one bad call against pit in 5 years plus - but i have seen several for them including a gift wrapped super bowl victory

    if there is betting going on in the NFL it starts with Pitt..
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 Cleveland
L. Vickers Lawrence Vickers RB

1 Rec, 1 yd, 1 TD
 Pittsburgh
B. Roethlisberger Ben Roethlisberger QB
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