by Bo Marchionte
Twitter @BoMarchionte
Steelers blowout Cincinnati to reach 9-0.
“So, a lot of positivity,” Mike Tomlin said after the 36-10 victory. “A lot of things to build upon as we move forward and get ready for our next test, which is on the road in J-ville.”
Winning is nice, but making it look easy allows everyone to rest easier at night.
Winning big while your Pro Bowl quarterback was on the reserve/COVID list must make the taste of sweet victory even better for Tomin and company.
A combined 12-points separated Pittsburgh from its three previous opponents. Those close games create anxiety. A win like today allows for an exhale of relief to reenergize for the Jaguars.
“His health was not a factor,” Tomlin said. “So, we had very little reservations about his ability to perform once we got him to the stadium.”
Tomlin would know first-hand.
Tomlin and Roethlisberger picked up their 124th regular season victory together, which ranks third for the most wins by a head coach-quarterback tandem in NFL history.
“Man, we’re really proud of these guys today,” Tomlin said. “Just because it was a challenging week. It wasn’t a very fluid week for us in terms of dealing with COVID in the manner in which we had to. We had a number of significant guys that weren’t allowed to come to work.
“We were working remotely from a meeting standpoint, didn’t have a lot of exposure to our guys. So, there was a lot of anxiety about just feeling good about the prep. It’s good to kind of face that and persevere and come and have that type of performance.”
Ben Roethlisberger was the big name among those who were not allowed to practice and remained away from the team until Saturday morning. The two-time Super Bowl quarterback would be play one of his best games of the season.
Roethlisberger threw for 333 yards along with four touchdowns and zero interceptions. It marked the 64th time in his career he has surpassed the 300-yard plateau in a single game. He calmy distributed the football amongst the new group of faces that have helped this team change its offensive identity.
“I attribute it to the guys around me,” Roethlisberger said. “I attribute it to the offensive line, no sacks today. Gave me time to throw it against a lot of crazy looks and blitzes. I attribute it to the coaching staff for getting me ready to play, and all of us ready to play.
“Then, obviously, the skill guys, they made plays tonight. It wasn’t easy out there. The wind was blowing the football around a little bit, and they were able to concentrate and make plays out there when sometimes plays weren’t even there to be made.”
Pittsburgh has won nine consecutive games, which is its fourth-longest streak overall and second-longest single-season winning streak in franchise history. The Steelers won 16-straight regular season games over the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and the 1975 Pittsburgh club won 11-straight regular season games.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was not surprised by his quarterback’s big day. Smith-Schuster caught his fifth touchdown pass of the season and was his first game with back-to-back touchdown receptions since his rookie season.
“Not Ben [Roethlisberger] just because Ben’s been doing this for a while,” Smith-Schuster said. “Going 15 plus years being in the league and doing what Ben does. For him, it’s more like backyard football being out there and calling the plays, and as you can see there’s series we’ll go no-huddle down the field and put point on the board.”
Roethlisberger was virtual all week but proved that his veteran experience can allow him a week of rest and still perform at a high level. His 227 regular season games played ranks 12th in NFL history and a franchise Steelers record topping the previous mark of 2020 by Hall of Fame center Mike Webster.
Maybe less work for Roethlisberger during the week could be a sign of things to come.
Hard to argue the results.
Photo Credit Frank Hyatt