Steelers' Playoff Picture Looks Better With Roethlisberger, Brown And Bryant On Offense
By Christina Rivers
The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to put themselves into a better position in NFL rankings after their 30-9 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. With a record of 6-4 heading into the bye week, the Steelers have propelled themselves to the fifth place ranking in the AFC playoff picture. A large part of their success came from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who entered the game after Landry Jones was injured, as well as from receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant. The Steelers are in second place in the AFC North.
The AFC playoff picture
With juggernaut New England still unbeaten, the Patriots are running the AFC through Week 10. The Steelers are just one of many teams that will vie for a spot in the playoffs, but their record in the conference at 3-4 and 1-2 record in the AFC North is a disadvantage when it comes down to tie-breakers. The bye week should give Pittsburgh the opportunity to build a solid plan for their final six regular season games. The current standings have the Patriots (9-0) at number one with the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals (8-0) in second place. The 7-2 Denver Broncos and 4-5 Indianapolis Colts stand and third and fourth place respectively. The Steelers are the current fifth-seed with the New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans in the mix for wild card positions.
Roethlisberger as the backup
The last time Ben Roethlisberger entered an NFL game as a backup quarterback was his debut game on September 19, 2004 at Baltimore against the Ravens. In a strange role reversal, Roethlisberger was forced into the game after Landry Jones was stepped on by his own teammate in the last offensive snap of the Steelers' second possession, spraining his ankle. Roethlisberger had little practice time due to a foot injury prior to the game, but came in and threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns. When asked about coming into the game, Roethlisberger said, "I had a lot of mental preparation. There wasn't a lot of physical preparation...I thought the guys around me played great." Roethlisberger praised Jones' performance, saying that he has "a lot more respect" for what backup quarterbacks have to do. Jones joked that Roethlisberger is probably the most expensive backup quarterback in the league following the game.
Roethlisberger moved into 13th place on the NFL's all-time passing yardage list, passing Kerry Collins. Recently, Roethlisberger (40,944) passed Joe Montana and Johnny Unitas, as well as Collins who recorded 40,922 career passing yards. Just five active quarterbacks, including Roethlisberger, are sitting in the top 13 of all time in the NFL.
Brown and Bryant – 'Killer Bees' back in action
Minus Le'Veon Bell, typically mentioned as the third "Killer Bee," receivers Brown and Bryant had spectacular performances against the Browns. Brown has put back-to-back career weeks together and caught ten receptions on Sunday for 139 yards and two touchdowns. With seven career multi-touchdown by reception games, Brown tied Roy Jefferson and Louis Lipps for fourth-most by a Steelers player since 1960. Brown passed Lipps for fifth-most yards from scrimmage on the franchise record list. In the past two weeks, Brown has recorded 27 receptions for 423 yards. Brown has 1,141 receiving yards on the season with five touchdowns. Bryant added six receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown on Sunday, adding to his season total of 22 receptions for 440 yards and five touchdowns in just five games.
When asked about the importance of the win, Brown said, "It was extremely important. It was an AFC North opponent. If we want to be the team we desire to be and get to the playoffs, we have to win division games." With the first division win at home, Brown admitted the team has room for improvement. "We have to continue to grow. We are at a positive point right now, and we have to continue to build off of it."
Christina Rivers has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers and National Football League professionally as a journalist and photographer for over a decade. Rivers studied Exercise Physiology and Sports Psychology at Brigham Young University as a student-athlete. Christina is a freelance writer covering all things NFL as well as a published author. Her work can be found on
Examiner.com.
