NFL

Colts 24, Steelers 20: Manning, Indy Show They're Not Dead Yet

Posted Nov 09, 2008 8:34PM By JJ Cooper (RSS feed)

Filed Under: Colts, Steelers, AFC North, AFC South

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As a rookie, Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 15-1 record. As a second year pro, he led the Steelers to a Super Bowl title. And last year, he produced the best season ever seen by a Steelers quarterback. Before he's done, he will very likely challenge Terry Bradshaw for the title of best Steelers QB ever.

And right now, he's killing the Steelers.

It's hard to find a bigger Roethlisberger defender than me, but there's no denying the facts: Over the last three games, Roethlisberger has been just a touch above awful. On Sunday he completed 30-of-42 passes for 284 yards, which sounds pretty good. But his three interceptions proved to be the killers on a day where the Steelers defense played well enough to win, if the Steelers don't hand the Colts opportunities.

If it was a one-game fluke, that would be one thing. But over three games, Roethlisberger is now 48 of his last 88 for 532 yards with one touchdown and eight interceptions -- which explains a lot of the reasons why Pittsburgh is 1-2 over that stretch. Roethlisberger's eight INTs in three games is as bad as the worst stretch in his horrible 2006 season.

Now in Roethlisberger's defense, two of those eight interceptions came on Hail Mary situatons at the end of games, and another two came on tipped balls that can hardly be blamed on him. But even four interceptions are as many as Roethlisberger had thrown in any three games in 2007 or 2008, and the first two INTs Roethlisberger threw on Sunday were extremely costly.

The first turned the momentum of the game. Pittsburgh had a 17-7 lead with the ball and just under five minutes to go in the first half. A long drive and a score would come close to putting the game away. Even a couple of first downs and a punt would have given the Steelers a nice cushion heading into halftime. Instead Roethlisberger was picked off as he tried to throw to Santonio Holmes. Keiwan Ratiff returned it to the Steelers 30, and the Colts soon scored a touchdown to cut the lead to three, 17-14 at the half.

The situation was similar in the fourth quarter. Roethlisberger and the Steelers got the ball with just over six minutes to go and a 20-17 lead. If Pittsburgh could drive down and score, the game would for, all intents and purposes, be over. If not, Pittsburgh could rely on its stout defense to keep Indianapolis from driving the length of the field in limited time.

But once again, Roethlisberger was picked off trying to throw to Holmes. Four plays later Indianapolis took the lead for good.

Pittsburgh never got its running game going on Sunday against a miserable Colts run defense, which is a sign of how bad this running game is. But with a defense that slows down most everybody, the Steelers don't need Roethlisberger to throw for 300 yards to win, but they do have to have him stop handing the opponents opportunities.

If Roethlisberger is healthy, he should start -- he's the Steelers franchise quarterback. But if his banged up shoulder is bothering him enough to affect his play, it's time to get him healthy for the stretch run, because he's currently a liability instead of an asset.

For the Colts, there's a lot of reasons to feel good. After a slow start, Indianapolis now has wins over the Patriots and Steelers in the past two weeks. That's two likely playoff teams Indianapolis has handled in back-to-back weeks, which is a pretty good sign that the Colts are still worth worrying about come playoff time, even if they'll be a wild card team.

Tags: 08nflrecaps, Ben+Roethlisberger, BenRoethlisberger

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