Big Ben On Antonio Brown's TD Pass: "Tomlin Wanted To Run That Play"
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) - Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger joined The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan for the #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show which airs every Tuesday morning at 11 a.m. during the Steelers season.
The Steelers are coming off a much needed 30-23 win over the Houston Texans on Monday Night football at Heinz Field.
It was Steelers Wide Receiver Antonio Brown and not Ben who threw a touchdown pass from the 3-yard line to Lance Moore that gave the Steelers the lead for good.
"AB made a great play, you get the ball in his hands there is a lot of options that can happen. He can throw it, He can run it, so many good things can happen." Roethlisberger said. "I remember coming off the field and Haley is like I was going to call this other play and he goes Tomlin wanted to run that play."
Roethlisberger said that play has changed names a few times, but it has been in the playbook for the past eight years and that they practice it every week. He did admit he was surprised by the call, because the play is a primary call for a two-point conversation play and he thought a play like that would be kept back for an occasion when they really needed it.
"I'm not sure if Coach Tomlin wanted it or Coach Haley or what but it worked so that is all that matters," Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers, after being down 13-0 for most of the first half, put 24 points on the board in a span of less than three minutes, which turned a deficit into a 24-13 lead at halftime.
"I have never been part of anything like that," Roethlisberger said. "Just from the defense getting the turnovers and the offense capitalizing on them. It was such a change of events and of the ebb and flow of the game and it was an unbelievable two minutes or minute-and-a-half, whatever it was. It's almost surreal and it really brought life to that stadium."
The scoring started on a drive that featured running back Le'Veon Bell making a huge catch and run for 43 yards that Ben said was the turning point of the game.
"It was such a momentum and game changer," Roethlisberger said. "I thought it was a big play for him."
The first touchdown came on a deep pass to wide receiver Martavis Bryant making his first start as a Steeler.
"I just threw it up. Give him a shot," Roethlisberger said. "When I let go of it I thought I overthrew it and he did a great job of catching it, dragging his feet like he has been taught to do, getting pushed, slammed into the wall and holds onto the ball. I believe that is his first ever NFL catch. It's not a bad one to start on."
Ben tells the guys that the deep passing game is something they thought they could feature in the game plan for the Texans but also something they want to feature as part of the offense moving forward. He did think that the offense took a step forward last night.
"We did some good things in the red zone, but I feel like we left some points out there," Roethlisberger said. "But you know what you can't fix everything overnight. We made some progress and we will continue to get better."
The Steelers' plan was also to stay away from the Texans' JJ Watt who may be one of the most disruptive defensive players in the NFL and possible MVP but it could possibly have been the Steelers Brett Keisel and not Watt as the better of the two guys wearing number 99.
"JJ Watt is a phenomenal football player who has been doing it at a high level for a couple of years but our No. 99 has been doing it for a long time," Roethlisberger said. "Taking nothing away from JJ of course, but we love the beard."
Roethlisberger also talked about an incident on the field that he missed was Linebacker Lawrence Timmons getting sick on the field. He said he didn't believe it at first when he was told about it because he was still out there on the field but it was true that Timmons as told to him by another player looked like a waterfall out there as he was getting sick on the field.
"It doesn't surprise me because that's the toughness and the heart and determination a guy like that has and so many guys on our team have. That's the veteran leadership that you love and that's a Pittsburgh Steeler," Roethlisberger said. "That why we laugh when people like Cowher and Ward saying that there is no toughness. Are you kidding me? Look at that guy, He is back out there and he plays his butt off and he is goin' a million miles an hour. That's Pittsburgh Steelers football and that's what the veteran guys we love because were doing everything we can to install that in the young guys and the new guys that they see and their gonna end up doing all they can not to let that guy down because he is giving everything he has for the team, the fans and for this organization."
The Steelers improve to (4-3) and our only a game behind division leading Baltimore, but the challenge heats up this week when Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts come to town for a 4:25 p.m. kickoff at Heinz Field and on KDKA-TV.
Roethlisberger says he has a tremendous amount of respect for Luck and that he has become one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He says that he likes how he prepares for the game and doesn't do a lot of talking.
"He lets his play do the talking and his play is pretty darn good," Roethlisberger said. "We are facing an extremely tough challenge this week against one of the best QBs in the league. We are going to have to come to work Wednesday ready to go."
You can listen to the full interview below and you can hear The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger show live every Tuesday at 11 a.m. during the football season on The Cook and Poni Show on Sportsradio 93.7 The Fan (KDKA-FM).
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