Alas, before we can enjoy the victory, we have to talk about the injury to Ben Roethlisberger.
Some people might say that Ben merely hands the ball off, and he does not "carry the team on his shoulders". Well, they would be correct to some degree: the Steelers are indeed a running team, and the 42:20 run-pass ratio in Sunday's game is proof of that. That said, Ben is the catalyst that makes the entire offense gel. Besides the 221 yards passing he had on Sunday, Ben made plays on third down to move the chains, such as the shovel pass to Jerome Bettis as Ben was being tripped from behind. In short, without Ben, the Steelers offense is not nearly as effective.
To best illustrate Ben's importance to the Steelers, when he left the game wincing in pain, every Steelers fan either stood in shocked silence or screamed, "Nooooo!"
Personally, for a moment, I thought it might have been a shoulder injury...his right shoulder...his throwing shoulder. Fortunately, it was announced that it was merely a rib injury, and Ben reentered the game on the next series. Yet, after three plays, he left the game once more. On the sidelines, Ben pleaded with Cowher to play again, but Cowher, smartly, kept Ben out for the rest of the game.
The fact that Ben was begging to reenter the game was a good sign. Furthermore, considering that the Steelers do not have to play another meaningful game until January 15 or 16, Ben's ribs will have nearly three entire weeks to heal (assuming that he does not start against Buffalo).
In addition to Roethlisberger's rib, Deshea Townsend broke his hand. Following the recent trend surrounding Steelers' players' injuries, Townsend's back-up, Colclough, will probably play just as good as he has...if not better. If you need proof, look not further than the current starting line-up: Vincent for Simmons. Foote for Bell. Hoke for Hampton. Williams for Scott. Randle El for Burress. Harrison for Haggans.
Speaking of Harrison, he gets my game ball. The guy seemed to be everywhere on the field. If a defensive play was being made, Harrison was the one making it. Which makes one wonder: when Clark Haggans is healthy, does Clark get his starting job back?
I almost forgot to include Bettis for Staley on my list of back-ups playing better than the starters...although I should not really include that one, because, for crying out loud, Jerome Bettis is a Hall of Famer (i.e. his stellar performance should be expected).
Speaking of Hall of Fame, Bettis moved past Eric Dickerson to fourth place on the all-time rushing list. It is awe-inspiring to watch the "old man" rumble for yet another 100 yard game, his sixth in six starts this season.
On one particular play, Ray Lewis attempted to tackle Bettis, only to be driven backwards three yards by Jerome. I know that Lewis wore a cast on his broken hand, and I understand that Ray was leaning the wrong way, but it was still very impressive. In fact, that was the only time I have ever seen Ray Lewis driven backwards...ever, with the operative words being "only" and "ever". Now, that is saying something.
Similarly, on another play, Bettis pushed three defenders back about five yards before they finally drug him down. After the play, Ed Reed was laying on top of Bettis and pointing in Jerome's face. Then, as they rose, Reed slapped Jerome's helmet. Bewildered, I thought "Where is the taunting flag?" But, then they both turned to the camera...smiling. Looks as though Reed had been praising Bettis for a great run: probably something to the effect of, "Hey, Mr. Hall of Famer. I used to have your poster on my bedroom wall...in grade-school. Will you sign it after the game?"
Anyway, that was classy of Reed to show his respect for Bettis. Of course, what else could the Ravens say or do? The Steelers stomped all over the Ravens for 183 yards, with Bettis having 117 of those. Meanwhile, the 26 yards rushing by Jamal Lewis was eclipsed by his quarterback, Kyle Boller (28 yards on 4 scrambles).
Being able to run on the Ravens is impressive, because they are a stingy defense; in my opinion, they are one of the top three defenses in the NFL. The teams that the Steelers will be facing in the play-offs will have defenses just about as good as the Ravens defense...which bodes well for the Steelers. In other words, Sunday's game indicates that the Steelers can run on anybody, with the operative word being "anybody".
Add to the mix a stingy defense of their own and a play-making quarterback, and the Steelers have all the ingredients to win the Super Bowl. Truly, it is a simple game-plan: Run. Stop the run. Win. The Steelers simply do those three things better than anybody else.
