Roethlisberger, Steelers Lose? Forget About It

A guy can remember only so much. Ben Roethlisberger has spent all season committing to memory the Pittsburgh Steeler playbook, so it’s only natural some other things have tumbled out of his mind.

At the moment, for instance, he’s forgetting the feeling of defeat.

“I don’t ever want to remember what it feels like to lose,” he said Saturday after improving to 12-0 as a starter with a 33-30 victory on the road against the New York Giants. Counting his spectacular final season at Miami of Ohio, Roethlisberger has won 25 consecutive games as a starting quarterback.

The Steelers (13-1) have won 12 consecutive games, a team record for one season. According to Stats Inc., of the six other teams that won at least 12 in a row, four won the Super Bowl or an NFL championship.

New York’s Eli Manning, drafted No. 1 overall last spring, has yet to taste victory in his five starts as a pro. He did, however, play markedly better Saturday, often presenting problems for the league’s No. 1 defense and outplaying his rookie counterpart for most of the game. Manning completed 16 of 23 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Roethlisberger completed 18 of 28 for 316 yards -- his first 300-yard game of the season -- with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“It wasn’t our best football game,” Roethlisberger conceded. “But we find ways to win.”

Putting the ball in the hands of Jerome Bettis was a good start. He gained 140 yards in 36 carries, recording his 48th 100-yard rushing game as a Steeler and moving ahead of Franco Harris for the most in team history. Asked if defenders are especially averse to tackling “the Bus” in cold weather -- it was 42 degrees at kickoff -- Bettis smiled broadly.

“Even when it’s warm they don’t want to see me, trust me,” he said. “I try to make it as difficult as possible for those guys and as painful as possible every time they tackle me, so that late in the game in the fourth quarter that’s when you start getting those big runs because they don’t want to come up and tackle you.”

The Giants (5-9), losers of seven in a row, put up a good fight. They surged ahead on the opening kickoff, which Willie Ponder returned 91 yards for a touchdown, and uncharacteristically hung tough in a game that had four lead changes, three in the second half. With 8 minutes 25 seconds to play, New York moved ahead, 30-26.

In a season of disappointment, the Giants have learned to take pleasure in those small triumphs.

“Losing is losing, it’s never fun,” Manning said. “But at least when you go out there and compete and have a chance to win in the fourth quarter, you feel better.”

Pittsburgh took the lead for good with a seven-play drive during which Roethlisberger went four for four, then Bettis hammered up the middle with three consecutive runs, finally bashing into the end zone from the one with 4:57 to play.

Again, the Giants looked as if they might have an answer. But their threat ended when receiver Amani Toomer got his feet tangled with those of cornerback Willie Williams and fell to the turf as Williams made a leaping interception. That enabled the Steelers to run out the clock.

Thousands of Giant fans booed the fact officials didn’t flag Williams for tripping on the play, but the non-call didn’t seem to rile New York Coach Tom Coughlin.

“I know what the rule says,” Coughlin said. “At the last minute, the defender’s eyes evidently went up to the ball, and when two people are looking up for the ball and their feet get tangled, there’s no foul. Every play out there is a judgment call. I thought it was a penalty, but I understand what the rule says too.”

Roethlisberger, drafted 10 spots after Manning, is developing a reputation for getting sharper as the game goes on, and the numbers back that up. Five times in 12 games, one of his first three passes has been intercepted. It happened on his third pass Saturday when he rolled right and threw across his body for Lee Mays, only to watch cornerback Frank Walker step in and pick it off.

But, true to form, Roethlisberger was at his sharpest with the game on the line. He completed five of six passes in the fourth quarter. Coming into the game, his 118.6 passer rating in the fourth quarter was second only to the fourth-quarter rating of San Diego’s Drew Brees (122.7).

“If you look at the guy in the fourth quarter, he has a feel for the game,” Pittsburgh Coach Bill Cowher said of Roethlisberger, drafted 11th overall. “He understands the game, he manages it very well and he’s growing up quite a bit. He’s a leader for our football team.”

Cowher was quick to point out, though, that Roethlisberger is surrounded by quite an arsenal of talented players. His favorite targets Saturday were Hines Ward, who caught nine passes for 134 yards, and Antwaan Randle El, who caught five for 149 and also threw for a touchdown when he caught a pitch and, like a basketball player throwing a touch pass, dished a shovel pass to Verron Haynes, who ran 10 yards for a touchdown.

“That’s the fastest we’ve done it,” said Randle El, a former quarterback at Indiana. “We had it in practice a couple times.... But that defensive end was smoking and coming right for me. I didn’t have it in my hands a good second and that’s the way it works.”

His last touchdown pass?

“You’d have to go all the way back to college for that,” Randle El said.

Funny, one could say the same thing about Roethlisberger’s last loss.