Jeff Reed kicked three fields, helping the Steelers defeat the Lions 23-7 in both squads preseason opener.

Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh quarterback, who was plagued with legal problems during the off season, didn’t play.  Roethlisberger will miss the regular season’s first six games.  The NFL suspended him due to their personal conduct policy.  However he can participate in the Steelers training camp as well as the preseason.

The Steelers started Byron Leftwich.  He went 6 out of 10 passing for 43 yards.  Pittsburgh went 9-7 last year and finished as the AFC North’s third place team while missing the playoffs.  Isaac Redman rushed for 60 yards on 15 carries and scored a touchdown, while Antonio Brown caught three passes for 84 yards receiving and scored a touchdown.

For the Lions, Matthew Stafford was 8 out of 11 passing for 61 yards, and also had one interception and one touchdown pass.  Last season the Lions went 2-14 and finished as the NFC North’s last place team and second worst team in the NFL.  Rookie Jahvid Best rushed for 29 yards on six carries and Calvin Johnson caught two passes for 10 yards.

During the first quarter Reed kicked a field goal of 35 yards to give the Steelers a 3-0 lead.  However early second quarter Johnson caught a touchdown pass of two yards to give Detroit a 7-3 lead.

Later Reed kicked a field goal of 37 yards and Redman scored from one yard out to give the Steelers a 13-7 halftime lead, which started 1:37 early as a result of heavy thunderstorms pounding the area.

During the third quarter Reed kicked a field goal of 32 yards, giving Pittsburgh a lead of 16-7.

During the fourth quarter Brown had a touchdown catch of 68 yards from Dennis Dixon for the game’s final score.

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers there really isn’t anything Super about them anymore.

The defending Super Bowl champs lost their fifth game in a row, and their playoff hopes were thrown for a loop by the struggling Cleveland Browns. With their defeat of Pittsburgh 13-6 on Thursday night facing wind chills at subzero temperatures, Cleveland snapped a 12 game losing streak versus the rival Steelers.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got sacked eight times. It was his first defeat at the hands of Cleveland (2-11) in eleven career games. The Browns extended the longest losing streak of the Steelers in six years, defeating Pittsburgh (6-7) at home. It’s the first time that has happened since 2000.

The Steelers will need some help in order to make it into the playoffs. The free fall is stunning for the team that at the halfway point of the season had a record of 6-2.

The losses to Cleveland, Oakland and Kansas City, three of the worst teams in the NFL whose combined record is 9-28 has been completely unexpected, and has pushed Pittsburgh to the brink of missing the playoffs.

Hines Ward, Steelers receiver said, losing five games in a row after coming off last year’s Super Bowl is really embarrassing. There is nothing ever fun when it comes to losing games, especially when you lose five straight. We are a better team than that and should be playing a lot better. We have three games left. You will see who wants to really go out there and play for our city’s and organization’s pride and who really doesn’t want to be here.

Kicker Phil Dawson had two field goals of 29 yards each, and Chris Jennings, who started off the season on the practice squad for Cleveland, scored a 10 yard rushing touchdown, as the Browns snapped a losing streak of seven games as well as a home ten game losing streak to defeat Pittsburgh for only the second time in the last twenty games.

Ben Roethlisberger tried his best to rally his team, however a fourth down pass intended for Santonio Holmes with under two minutes to play in the game got knocked down by David Bowens, Browns linebacker.

When Holmes got tackled on the punt return as the final second of the game ticked off on the clock on the scoreboard, the frozen fans of the Browns, who were almost outnumbered by Pittsburgh Terrible Towel waving fans, danced for joy in the aisles. Some of the Browns players raced down field to the Dawg Pound and jumped into the section to celebrate.

Josh Cribbs, Browns receiver said, it means everything. There’s lots of Steelers fans in the city. I hope that people go into work and give those Steelers fans a kick.

Pittsburgh, who lost some of their spirit as well as much of their toughness on defense when Troy Polamalu, Pro Bowl safety injured his knee, left the football field completely stunned.

Holmes said, it’s very hurtful. I never thought we would lose five games straight. Those guys will definitely continue fight over our last three games. I hope we will be able to get back together this summer and regroup and just start all over again.

It was only the second win for Eric Mangini, the embattled first year head coach of Cleveland. He definitely helped his cause for job security with the Browns defeat of Pittsburgh. The last Browns coach to do so was Chris Palmer when he did nine years ago.

From the wildcat formation Cribbs had 87 yards rushing and 104 return yards. He also caught a nine yard pass and picked up a critical first down during the fourth quarter when a run of 14 yards when Cleveland was trying to hold the ball and milk the clock.

After the game, Cribbs soaked up the biggest win of his career. He knew that the 2 ½ hour bus ride for the Steelers back to Pennsylvania was not going to be fun.

Cribbs said, they will be hearing the engine of the bus all the way home. It’s a lonely ride. For years I have ridden it. Now it’s time that they hear the engine on their way home as they are looking at the stat sheets.

With 6:16 left to play, the Steelers got the ball at their 21 yard line needing to get a touchdown to tie the game. Roethlisberger, who in the past has broken the hearts of Cleveland, began to lead the Steelers down the field with his short passing. However at midfield he was sacked during the last two minutes of the game and also had his last pass batted away.

Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, who was making the first start of his career against the Steelers, only completed one pass during the second half. He finished the game 6 for 19 for a total of 90 yards.

Roethlisberger was 18 for 32 for a total of 201 yards. The swirling winds that blew over twenty mph on a consistent basis, gave him trouble throwing, while the running game of the Steelers was never established against Cleveland’s 32nd ranked defense.

The first half of the game was dominated by the Brown’s defense. Roethlisberger was sacked five times and he was pressured on practically every play.

The Super Bowl Champs are losing their self confidence just as fast as they are losing leads and games. Meanwhile, the Raiders are suddenly winning with surprise finishes and remarkable comebacks just like the old days.

With nine seconds left to go in the game Louis Murphy caught a touchdown pass of 11 yards from Bruce Gradkowski, his second score during the last 5 ½ minutes of the games, as Oakland scored three touchdowns late in the game to stun the Steelers on Sunday 27-24 and hand Pittsburgh their fourth loss in a row.

Pittsburgh (6-6) is now in danger of not making the playoffs following their second Super Bowl win in four seasons. The Steelers went ahead in the game 24-20 on a touchdown pass of 11 yards from Ben Roethlisberger to Hines Ward with just 1:56 left in the game, only to see Oakland (4-8) rally to win the game.

The Raiders came into the game as a two touchdown underdog. The come from behind victory was even better than the upset 20-17 win two weeks before over the Bengals. During that game Murphy had a touchdown catch of 29 yards and during the last 33 seconds Sebastian Janikowski had a field goal of 33 yards.

Last season Gradkowski was over matched versus his hometown Pittsburgh Steelers. He became Oakland’s first quarterback to have three touchdown passes during the fourth quarter since December 3, 1979 when Ken Stabler did during a Raiders 42-35 victory over the Saints after Oakland trailed in the game 35-14.

Does Gradkowski think he is George Blanda, former comeback kid for the Raiders? Coming into the game Oakland had only five throwing touchdowns for the entire season.

Last December while playing with Cleveland, Gradkowski only completed two passes. His passer rating was 1.0 as the Browns lost to the Steelers 31-0. On Sunday Gradkowski went 20 for 33 for a total of 308 yards and a 121.8 passer rating.

Todd Watkins, Raiders wide receiver said, our receivers coach was giving up a message. He brought up Mike Tyson getting knocked out by Buster Douglas, Miracle on Ice, things that were totally unbelievable. The people that were able to do it believed that they could.

At midseason, Pittsburgh had a record of 6-2. During the past three weeks they have lost to the Raiders and Chiefs (3-9), two of the worst teams in the NFL, and have fallen three games behind the AFC North leading Bengals (9-3).

James Farrior, linebacker said, I can’t even begin to describe how frustrated we are to be at 6-6. At this point in the season we thought we would be doing much better. But we are exactly what our current record says that we are.

For the fifth time out of six losses, Pittsburgh wasn’t able to hold a lead during the fourth quarter. The Steelers had leads of 10-6 and 17-13 as well as 24-20.

Deshea Townsend, cornerback said, as a defense we want to be really dominant. The way for us to be really dominating is when our team needs us to finish.

Following three quarters of not much scoring or action, along with a crowd that was unusually quiet, the fourth quarter saw two revived offenses engaged in a duel that went back and forth, with five lead changes during the last 8 ½ minutes of the game.

Jon Condo of Oakland said, we would score, then they would score, then we would score.

It all began when Chaz Schilens caught a scoring pass of 17 yards from Gradkowski with 8:21 left to play to make the score 13-10 and give the Raiders their first lead

Oakland, who during their first five games on the road was held to just 49 points, and the second worst ranked offense in the NFL, once again fell behind in the game 17-13 on a touchdown run of 3 yards by Rashard Mendenhall, following a 57 yard pass from Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes the play before. Earlier in the game Holmes had given the Steelers the lead 10-3 on a scoring catch of 34 yards.

The Raiders were able to answer again when Ike Taylor got ahead of Murphy to score on a touchdown pass of 75 yards to make the score 20-17 with just 5:28 to play. However, it wasn’t over yet.

In seven plays the Steelers drove 80 yards and Ward scored a touchdown. However there was still nearly three minutes left on the clock, enough time for the Raiders to get a win with the type of drive that they have rarely been able to mount all season long, much less doing it three times during a single quarter.

Gradkowski connected with Murphy on a 19 yard pass down to Pittsburgh’s 40 yard line, and then a 17 yard pass play down to the 23 yard line. Ryan Mundy, backup safety, was then penalized for a late hit to give the Raiders the ball at the 11 yard line with a first down. Murphy was then able to get free behind Mundy, who was playing in place of Troy Polamalu who missed his three game in a row with an injured knee. Murphy scored the game winning touchdown.

Gradkowski said, that was very exciting. I can’t put how I feel into words. Gradkowski’s first two starts versus Pittsburgh in 2006 and then 2008 only resulted in three points along with five interceptions and no wins.

Played just 17 days before the 37the anniversary for the Immaculate Reception, Pittsburgh had one last chance. On the last play of the game, from midfield Roethlisberger threw for the end zone. However Hiram Eugene was able to knock the pass down that was headed for Limas Sweed.

This time there was no miracle finish versus the Raiders.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach said, at critical times we played poorly. When that happens you lose.

In one of the fiercest rivalries over the last ten years featuring some of the NFL’s most notable players, it was a few backup players that made their marks in very memorable fashion.

Dennis Dixon, third string quarterback, can be added to the list of notable Steelers that already includes Troy Polamalu, Plaxico Burress, Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward.

Paul Kruger can be welcomed to the club that includes Shannon Sharpe, Tony Siragusa, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis.

With 6:42 left to play during overtime, Kruger intercepted a pass from Dixon to set up Billy Cundiff’s field goal of 29 yards to give Baltimore a 20-17 victory on Sunday night over Pittsburgh.

Dixon was the starting quarterback because Roethlisberger was sidelined due to a concussion along with Charlie Batch, the backup, out due to his left wrist being broken. In two seasons Dixon had only thrown one pass before starting versus the Ravens.

Dixon, for most of the game, did his best to impersonate Roethlisberger. He connected with Santonio Holmes on a touchdown pass of 33 yards and added a running touchdown of 24 yards to give the Steelers a fourth quarter 17-14 lead.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach said, throughout the game I liked his demeanor. He made plays. He represented himself well.

However during overtime the only turnover by Dixon led to Baltimore (6-5) getting the victory.

Ray Rice, Ravens running back who rallied his team during overtime said, this boosts our confidence. Not only to get the win against a team this great with their legacy, but also against a division opponent. Right now it’s a season of five games for us.

Pittsburgh (6-5) have lost three games in a row, their longest losing streak since 2006 when they lost three straight.

Tomlin said, we won’t go gently. We aren’t going into a shell. We will be in attack mode. That’s what is needed.

Kruger, playing for Terrell Suggs, injured linebacker, intercepted the pass and was able to return the ball 26 yards down to Pittsburgh’s 28 yard line. Six plays later the game winner was delivered by Cundiff, giving the Raven’s their first win in overtime since November 2005 versus the Steelers.

Kruger, a rookie who was playing in just his fourth game said, to be part of this win is really big for me. The play was designed to be a blitz with me being the dropper who was in the right place and at just the right time.

The situation was that they had been disguising the blitz all throughout the entire game, said Dixon. We did see it. Basically I tried to just trust my instincts. Their guy made a very good play.

The last two losses for Pittsburgh have come during overtime. Dixon was 12 out of 26 for a total of 145 yards. Rashard Mendenhall rushed for 95 yard in 24 attempts.

Tomlin said, don’t talk about moral victories to me and things like that.

Joe Flacco went 23 for 35 passing for a total of 289 yards with one touchdown. The win keeps Baltimore right in the middle of the hunt for the playoffs.

Flacco said, you need to be ready for playing 60 minutes. We played more today. It feels good. That is what we needed to have. It was even bigger against this team.

The game on Sunday featured a rematch of the AFC championship game last season when Pittsburgh finished off a sweep of three games against the Ravens with their 24-13 win.

With Roethlisberger on the sidelines in full uniform looking on while Dixon, the third string quarterback, on third down and five ran to the right for a touchdown from the Ravens 24 yard line to give Pittsburgh their first lead in the game, 17-14, with only 6:24 remaining.

However, the Ravens were able to come back. Flacco, facing a fourth down and five from the Ravens 46 yard line, connected with Rice on a 44 yard pass, setting up a field goal of 24 yards by Cundiff with just 1:51 left to play.

On the last play in regulation, Cundiff was short on a field goal attempt of 56 yards.

During the third quarter the Steelers were able to close the game to 14-10 with Jeff Reed’s field goal of 44 yards, capping a drive of 24 yards that featured a pass of 20 yards from Dixon over to Mendenhall.

Late second quarter Baltimore went ahead 14-7 on a drive of 89 yards. Flacco completed 11 and 54 yard passes to Mark Clayton, and then connected on a 10 yard scoring pass with Derrick Mason.

On Pittsburgh’s first possession Dixon’s first pass was almost intercepted by Baltimore. They were forced to punt. Then Willis McGahee capped a drive of 73 yards with a run of 2 yards to give Baltimore their first offensive touchdown during the first half since October 4.

On the second drive for Pittsburgh, Dixon’s 31 yard impromptu run was wiped out due to a holding penalty. However the next time Dixon got the ball there weren’t any flaws. Dixon went a perfect 3 for 3 and a total of 60 yards, capped off with his touchdown pass over to Holmes.

When the very last player to be taken in the 2009 draft came out onto the field, 2008’s best team was doomed.

On Sunday, just a few minutes following Ben Roethlisberger wobbling off the field due to a possible concussion, a field goal of 22 yards was kicked by Ryan Succop with 8:28 left to play in overtime, as Kansas City snapped a 10 home game losing streak, with a 27-24 win over a stunned Pittsburgh team.

A catch and run of 61 yards by Chris Chambers set Succop up. Mr. Irrelevant was able to boot the game winner through for Kansas City (3-7) whose stadium was full of towel waving Steelers (6-4) fans.

Roethlisberger had 398 passing yards along with three touchdowns before he was kneed in the helmet while Derrick Johnson was sacking him. Charlie Batch came in to replace him. Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach said, he wasn’t sure how severe the injury was.

Tomlin said, he took a harsh blow. It was concussion oriented. I doubted he would come back to the game. I don’t have much information about where he is at or his availability. As we proceed we’ll have more information.

Right before the big play by Chambers, Ike Taylor, Steelers cornerback dropped a potential interception.

Todd Haley, Kansas City rookie coach said, this job’s not for the faint hearted.

Matt Cassel, Chiefs quarterback, had a terrible first half. He only passed for 35 yards and had four completed passes. However during the last two quarters as well as overtime he came through, finishing the game with a total of 248 passing yards along with two touchdowns.

Haley said, I have to give Cassel credit. The kid is a real fighter. Haley grew up going to Steelers training camp with his father who was a personnel executive with Pittsburgh. During the Super Bowl last year Haley lost to the Steelers while was the offensive coordinator for Arizona.

Haley said, it’s nice getting rewarded against this type of team. The guys showed a lot of guts and heart.

Facing third down, Cassel connected on a pass to Chambers, signed just three weeks ago from San Diego off waivers. Chambers moved the ball 61 yards until he got pushed out on the 4 yard line.

Ryan Succop, who was the last player selected this April, came into the game and clinched the first home win for the Chiefs in over a year. Late third quarter Succop had a field goal of 27 yards to tie the game at 17.

For the Steelers, it was their second straight loss. They have also lost to the Bengals, their division rivals twice, and were playing without Troy Polamalu, their Pro Bowl safety, who is injured. Chris Kemoeatu, guard, also left the game due to a knee injury.

During regulation, Pittsburgh (6-4) held onto the ball for nearly 19 minutes more than Kansas City (3-7) and also out gained the Chiefs 463-206. Kansas City stayed in the game with the 97 yard return by Jamaal Charles during the opening kickoff as well as an interception return of 94 yards by Andy Studebaker.

Hines Ward, Steelers wide receiver said, during the third quarter we lost some momentum with all of our turnovers and things like that. Ward caught 10 passes for a total of 128 yards and one touchdown. When you allow a team like that to hang around, you give them the chance. Whenever you give that team hope, the feed off of the crowd noise. In overtime they did what they needed to do.

Studebaker, who was making his first start in the NFL, intercepted a pass from Roethlisberger inside the end zone during the third quarter, returning the ball down to Pittsburgh’s 8 yard line before he was drug down by Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers running back.

Studebaker said, once I had the ball picked off, 100 yards seemed like a very long way. That was a very fun play.

During the next three plays, however, Cassel got sacked twice. Kansas City settled for a field goal of 27 yards by Succop.

A touchdown pass of 8 yards from Roethlisberger to Mendenhall gave Pittsburgh the lead back at 24-17 after Pittsburgh recovered a turnover by Cassel at the 27 yard line.

However, Kansas City, who was playing without Dwayne Bowe, their suspended wide receiver, came back. Cassel connected with Lance Long on a pass of 30 yards, and then a 47 yard pass to Chambers to set up a touchdown pass of 2 yards over to Charles to tied the score at 24 with less than 5 minutes to play.

Cassel had a touchdown pass of 21 yards to Leonard Pope as well early third quarter.

Jamaal Charles, who got the first rushing touchdown for the Chiefs the week before, this week got the first kickoff return touchdown for the Chiefs in four years. Charles got the ball on the opening kick off near the 3 yard line, then veered to the right and was barely touched, for the fourth kickoff touchdown return allowed by Pittsburgh in five games.

It was Kansas City’s first home victory, and first defeat of an opponent with a record over .500 since defeating Denver in 2008 during the fourth week last season. In addition, it was the first time posting consecutive wins since October 14-21, 2007.

Succop said, to beat the Super Bowl champs is a really great feeling. Lots of hard work went into this. Our players, coaches and everyone has bought into it.

It might not have been a concession speech, but it did sound like one. For a majority of the past twenty seasons the Bengals have been chasing the Steelers. It’s now turned around. It’s Pittsburgh this time that realizes it’s an uphill battle.

It’s clear they are the division’s best team, said Steelers safety Ryan Clark on Sunday after Cincinnati defeated Pittsburgh 18-12 and took control of their division, the AFC North. I would give up my left arm just to get a chance to play them one more time.

Who would have imagined the Super Bowl champs saying such a thing about a rival that they have in large part dominated and intimidated at times since the 1980s? Particularly with only seven games remaining in the season.

Cincinnati (7-2) was able to pull that off by defeating Pittsburgh (6-3) at their very own game and in their stadium, where the Steelers have won their last 10 games. They shut down the running game of Pittsburgh as well as Ben Roethlisberger, gave up just four Jeff Reed field goals, and were able to convert the only big play of a very tight game, a 96 kickoff return by Bernard Scott to score a touchdown.

Marvin Lewis, head coach of the Bengals said, I have never experienced a more grinding football game.

Pittsburgh was playing without Troy Polamalu, their star safety, for all except the opening series of the game. He aggravated his injured left knee that had sidelined him previously for four games. Polamalu had an MRI exam performed, but there wasn’t any word immediately regarding his status.

Whether they are going to have Polamalu the rest of the season or not, Pittsburgh realizes that they are in big trouble.

The Bengals with their sweep of the season series with Pittsburgh, the first since 1998, gives them effectively a two game lead over the Steelers due to the fact that they own a tiebreaker as well as a 5-0 record in their division for the very first time in history. By this time in the season they are usually playing for next season.

Chad Ochocinco said, it’s really refreshing to be where we are at this point in the season. We have a reason to play and it feels great.

Especially when it seemed that the Bengals were almost waiting for something bad to occur. They settled for four Shayne Graham field goals, following one deep drive after another not producing any touchdowns.

They also had to play the second half of the game without Cedric Benson, their star running back. However they still were able to find a way for following up on their September 27th 23-20 victory over Pittsburgh, and in the city where the Bengals have only won 13 times over the last 40 years. A majority of those wins came in the 1980s.

Graham said, it’s very hard to describe this feeling. You’ve been through this so many times, leaving the stadium, holding your head down after you’ve lost the game.

Cincinnati, with a dismal record last season of 4-11-1, has swept both Pittsburgh and Baltimore just one season after the two teams played in the AFC title game. They are 4-0 in their road games and have won seven out of their last eight games.

Kyle Cook, Bengals center said, we lost these types of games in the past.

For Pittsburgh, the defeat was very frustrating after winning five games in a row and scoring a minimum of 27 points in those games. If they had won the game they would be leading the division and controlling the momentum. Clark concedes that now they might be playing just to get a wild card spot unless Cincinnati collapses.

Deshea Townsend, cornerback said, we still need to find some way of getting into the playoffs. We have plenty of veterans to help us get there. We are chasing the Bengals. Hopefully we will see them once again.

Cincinnati was very Pittsburgh-like in a football game where the combined offense for the two teams was only 444 yards. They seemed to be copying from the playbook of Dick LeBeau, defensive master. Cincinnati didn’t allow Pittsburgh to convert on any of their last ten third downs and pressured Roethlisberger all day who was just 20 out of 40 passing for 174 yards and was sacked four times. They also contained Rashard Mendenhall who only rushed for 36 yards on 13 carries. In Denver the week before he rushed for 155 yards.

Mostly the Bengals didn’t allow the defense of the Steelers to dictate, despite them gaining only a total of 218 yards. They were even able to get away with botching up on an extra point for the second game in a row versus the Steelers.

The most critical drive of the game came late and lasted over four minutes, capped by a field goal of 43 yards by Graham. Earlier he hit field goals from the 23 yard line and the 32 yard line twice.

With just under two minutes left, Pittsburgh got the ball. However, Roethlisberger threw four incomplete passes in a row from the 33 yard line, and it was all over.

Roethlisberger said, something was just missing all day long. I am not sure what it was. There was something weird that day. May it was the warm weather for November. We didn’t make plays that we usually make.

Chad Ochocinco caught 2 passes for a total of 29 yards, while Carson Palmer went 18 for 30 for a total of 178 yards. Neither play really got going. However the Bengals didn’t have any turnovers. The Steelers had one, and it did make a difference.

On Pittsburgh’s first drive in the second half, Frostee Rucker intercepted a Roethlisberger pass and returned the ball to Pittsburgh’s 14 yard line. However, they played to the familiar script and only got a field goal from Graham.

This time, however, things were different. They didn’t settle by losing the game.

Adrian Peterson, Brett Favre, and Vikings were not perfect.

Minnesota wasn’t able to get half a yard at a time when it could have turned things around. Then they watched the big play defense of the Steelers end the Vikings undefeated season with their two long returns for touchdowns during the last 6 ½ minutes of the game.

The fumble return of 77 yards by LaMarr Woodley and the 82 interception return by Keyaron Fox on Favre turnovers allowed Pittsburgh to turn the Vikings repeated comeback attempts back, as the Steelers were able to ride three critical defensive stands on Sunday to give them a very important 27-17 win.

What had been a highly anticipated showdown between quarterbacks Favre and Roethlisberger, the NFL’s passing leader, turned into a defensive duel. The Super Bowl champ Steelers (5-2) team, the No. 1 rated defense during the past two seasons, is very hard to defeat in games that are decided by the defense.

During the third quarter, Minnesota (6-1) conceded as much. After they failed to score in three plays from only half a yard out, and where Peterson only got the football once, they had to settle for just a field goal which meant that the Steelers still had the lead in the game at 13-10.

The critical goal line stand for Pittsburgh was just as decisive as their ensuing two defensive touchdowns.

Ryan Clark, Steelers safety said, that was the biggest point in the entire game. You have the world’s best running back and you don’t give him the ball. They are saying that they cannot beat us running. That is a major statement considering they have that guy back there.

The return of Woodley, with lots of huffing and puffing coming from the linebacker over the last thirty yards following Brett Keisel’s strip of Favre for the football, was very similar to the interception return of 100 yards by James Harrison during the Super Bowl versus Arizona. Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach said, that was one of those moments in slow motion that are one of the joys of this business.

Woodley’s touchdown gave Pittsburgh a 20-10 lead with 6:23 left to play, after Minnesota drove down to Pittsburgh’s 8 yard line and had positioned themselves to take the lead for the first time in the game since the 2 yard run for a touchdown by Peterson had put them ahead during the second quarter 7-3.

Woodley said, I got down to the 40 yard line and didn’t think that I would make it.

Minnesota wasn’t finished, not during this season full of surprises at the last minute. Percy Harvin answered Pittsburgh with a kickoff return of 88 yards for a touchdown. However, Favre wasn’t able to pull this game out after he had rallied the Vikings twice previously during the closing minutes of the game.

Favre said, there were lots of ifs, lots of reasons why we didn’t win. One of them was the red zone. They are very physical. We thought they would be good and they were. When I got here and saw the Steelers game on our schedule I went, ohhh.

Favre connected on a pass play of 29 yards with Peterson. With a little over one minute to play, Minnesota drove to Pittsburgh’s 18 yard line. The biggest victory in their improbable good season was awaiting them.

However, Favre’s intended pass to Chester Taylor was intercepted by Fox and returned nearly the entire length of the football field, with almost every Viking in pursuit except Favre. Previous to that, Favre had only two interceptions.

Fox said, Brett tried forcing the ball in there. Their running back bobbled the ball. It slipped from his hand. It fell right in my lap. I had just got done running across the field chasing Peterson. I was winded. It felt like 100 plus yards.

The most significant of the missed opportunities for the Vikings came midway third quarter when they were only about a foot from their goal line. Peterson, who had just 69 yards rushing in 18 attempts, after he had averaged 161.5 yards during the first two games playing AFC North teams, didn’t get inside the goal line on first down.

Favre wasn’t able to get the football into the end zone to covered receivers on their next two downs. On fourth down Brad Childress, Vikings coach, settled for a field goal of 18 yards from Ryan Longwell instead of going for it. The 65,597 record breaking crowd at Heinz Field cheered loudly on the decisive defensive stand.

Favre said, we got three chances. It’s easy looking back now to say we should have done this, we shouldn’t have done that. Handing the ball off to Adrian, I would think he would get it in. He will say I am sure that he should have went in.

Peterson said, playing Pittsburgh and their defense, it’s the very best defense we will face. You need to get seven points there. I was very upset about settling for three points.

Brett Favre went 34 for 51 for a total of 334 yards. He was statistically better than Roethlisberger, who went 14 for 26 for a total of 175 yards, with one exception- turnovers. Minnesota out gained the Steelers 386 to 259, but was unable to out score the defense of the Steelers.

No matter how it’s measured, Cleveland can not beat Pittsburgh.

Ben Roethlisberger passed for two touchdowns in a Steelers offense that is increasingly wide open, as Pittsburgh got the benefit from a questionable first down measurement and defeated their rival Cleveland on Sunday 27-14. It was their 12th win in a row against the Browns, their oldest rival in the league.

Roethlisberger, who is the league’s second rated passer and is on pace to have his best season statistically, went 23 for 35 for a total of 417 yards for the second 400 yard game of his career. Hines Ward caught eight passes for a total of 159 yards and scored a touchdown, receiver Santonio Holmes caught five passes for 104 yards, and Heath Miller, tight end, had his fourth touchdown catch in three games.

Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach said about Roethlisberger, he has total command of our offense. In six games, Roethlisberger has thrown 10 touchdowns and a total of 1,887 yards. It’s very fun to watch.

The turnovers weren’t so great to watch. Each team had four, including two each late third quarter within a 1:25 span.

The Steelers out gained the Browns 543 to 197 yards, but by the third quarter Pittsburgh only had a 17-14 lead. They may not have even had the lead were it not for the first down they were given after it appeared that Roethlisberger, on a quarterback sneak on fourth down, had been stopped a few inches short from the 14 yard line of Cleveland during the second quarter.

On tv replays it appeared that the football was short of the yard stick on the play where Roethlisberger attempted to lure the Browns defense offside before he slammed headfirst into the center of the defense. The Cleveland players began yelling and started to run off the field. However Walt Anderson, referee, surprised the teams when he signaled the first down.

Roethlisberger said, the play was close and we just got lucky.

Max Starks, tackle, said, I saw the Cleveland players all arguing and yelling. But the referee definitely knows the rules a lot better than me. If he says it was a a first down, then it was a first down.

Obviously the Browns didn’t think so.

David Bowens, linebacker said, he made that call. We have to just live with it. I’m not sure if he gave an explanation. All I know is he said first down. That was it.

The angle on TV may have been deceptive, according to Anderson. He said, if the angle had been shot from the opposite side, it may have looked like the ball was further advanced from the stake. He was certain it was the correct call.

Two plays later an apparent touchdown pass of 13 yards from Roethlisberger to Ward got overturned after the replay. As Ward tumbled out of bounds the football came loose from his hand. The Steelers had to settle for a field goal.

Due to the questionable first down ruling, Cleveland trailed in the game 17-14 instead of a tie after they had scored just their fourth offensive touchdown in 12 games, 11 which they have lost, on a one yard pass from Derek Anderson over to Lawrence Vickers early third quarter.

Anderson went 9 for 24 for a total of 122 yards.

Anderson said, we try not to lose each time we go play here, referring to the 1-9 record of the Browns playing at Heinz Field. We’ve put in tons of hours. It’s frustrating. Every week is frustrating.

Pittsburgh, who won their third consecutive game, made it a 24-14 game when Roethlisberger connected with Ward on a 45 yard pass and a 21 yard pass to Mike Wallace before Rashard Mendenhall had a touchdown run of 2 yards.

Miller said, I don’t think we have played our best football yet. That is pretty comforting. We have a few wins without playing at our best.

The other score of Cleveland’s came on a kickoff return of 98 yards by Joshua Cribbs late second quarter, following touchdown passes of Roethlisberger to Miller from 8 yards and Ward from 52 yards. Cribbs went untouched as he ran down the sideline of the Steelers to score his eighth rick return, a club record, with six of them being off of kickoff returns. It was his third one versus Pittsburgh.

Cribbs said, I heard from 1,000 Cleveland fans back home saying, return it for me. I got up to play this game.

After a flurry of turnovers, a field goal of 39 yards was kicked by Reed. Cleveland than gave up the ball again when Ryan Clark intercepted an Anderson pass. It was the fourth turnover of the game and their 32nd turnover in 12 games.

In the first half from the wildcat formation Troy Polamalu intercepted a pass from Cribbs.

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to avoid losing yet another game during the fourth quarter, with help from their fans on the road.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had three passes for touchdowns, his season high, in the first three quarters, and the Steelers defense was good enough during the fourth quarter to hold the Detroit Lions off on Sunday to win 28-20.

Detroit had the football on their 29 yard line with three minutes to play and two timeouts with a chance for sending the game to overtime versus the Super Bowl champs.

Thousands of Steeler fans dressed in black and gold twirled Terrible Towels and chanted DE-FENSE, helping to keep Detroit from crossing the goal line.

LaMarr Woodley, Steelers linebacker, who got his first sack of the season with 1 1/2 on the last drive for Detroit said, that worked for us. Their offensive linemen weren’t able to hear their snap count, so they were just watching the ball like us.

James Harrison, Steelers linebacker, had three sacks which matched his season total. He also forced a fumble, delighting the Steeler fans at Ford Field. Pittsburgh ended up with seven sacks for the game. The crowd of 59,333 sounded and looked like at least half were rooting for the visiting team.

Mike Tomlin, head coach for Pittsburgh said, it was awesome how they traveled. It is just spectacular standing on the visitors sideline and to see all of the fan support we got today here.

The Steelers have sold out 283 games in a row at home, which led scores of their fans to make the 4 1/2 hour drive up to Detroit where they could take advantage of lots of available seats in the stadium where Pittsburgh won the 2006 Super Bowl.

Hines Ward, who had a touchdown reception said, it brought a lot of memories back. We had as many fans here today as we did then.

The Steelers (3-2) for the very first time all season won a road game, after blowing leads in the fourth quarter in Chicago and Cincinnati, and won back to back games.

Woodley say, we will get rolling. Next week Cleveland is coming to town.

Mid first quarter the rushing touchdown from Rashard Mendenhall gave the Steelers the lead in the game. The third touchdown pass from Roethlisberger gave them a 15 point lead with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

Detroit (1-4) was able to rally on the 25 yard touchdown pass from Daunte Culpepper to Dennis Northcutt, pulling the Lions to within eight points with 4:57 minutes left to play. They drove to Pittsburgh’s 21 yard line, but then were pushed back to midfield with three sacks. Culpepper was then forced to heave a pass up which Ike Taylor, cornerback, knocked down at the goal line.

Jim Schwartz, Detroit’s head coach said, we didn’t play smart always in the game. We didn’t play well always, but I am proud of how we battled the entire game. We could have given in in a couple places but didn’t.

Roethlisberger went 23 for 30 for a total of 277 yards and had touchdown passes to Heath Miller, Mike Wallace and Ward. He had one interception during the second quarter to William James who returned the ball 38 yards and scored.

On the Steeler’s next drive, Roethlisberger made up for it, connecting on a 17 yard pass with Ward, giving the Steelers a lead of 21-13.

Roethlisberger said, I don’t feel that I am playing well. I am disappointed with how I have performed.

Culpepper, who was filling in for Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, who was out with an injured right knee went 23 for 37 for a total of 282 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Culpepper said, I still think this is a good ball club, but a good ball club looks at situations like this and uses it to find ways to start winning these types of games. That’s what we need to do.

Notes
Calvin Johnson, Lions wide receiver left during the first quarter with an injured right knee. Pittsburgh Safety Troy Polamalu (injured left knee) and running back Willie Parker (injured left toe) were not active for the game. Lions linebacker Larry Foote, who was a Steeler during his first seven years, chatted and hugged his former teammates after the game in the locker room. Ward said, we still do love Foote. He is still a part of us. Roethlisberger said that he was excited about his upcoming appearance on The Jay Leno Show from home via satellite.

Up to this point the Steelers had not be able to get Rashard Mendenhall up and running. The Chargers were not able to stop him Mendenhall helped Pittsburgh build a big lead. He then made sure they didn’t blow the lead with another bad fourth quarter. With his two touchdowns and 165 yards rushing, Mendenhall set new career highs in both departments. Ben Roethlisberger’s throwing helped get the Steelers get off to a fast fast and Pittsburgh was able to open up a lead of 28 points, and then held on to defeat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night 38-28.

Mewelde Moore, running back, had a touchdown catch and on a goal line play threw for a touchdown pass as well to Heath Miller. The Steelers (2-2) who in the last two weeks were beaten during the closing second of the game by Chicago and Cincinnati, were able to build such a big lead this time that the bad fourth quarter did not really matter. In the final minute Jeff Reed hit a field goal from 46 yards.

Roethlisberger said, we’ve been unable to finish it off. This week we did. The San Diego Chargers (2-2) who were out gained by almost 4 to 1 until deep into the third quarter and 497 to 251 yards overall, were able to turn the game from a blowout to make it close. Philip Rivers had a 30 yard touchdown pass to Antonio Gates and then another one to Chris Chambers for 13 yards Jacob Hester returned a fumble for another 41 yard score. All of these scores took place in the fourth quarter.

Mendenhall, who was a first round pick for the Steelers in 2008, came into the game with no touchdown and 103 career yards rushing. He was able to finally run out of the doghouse of Mike Tomlin while he was filling in for Willie Parker who was out with an injured toe. The week before Mendenhall didn’t get even a single carry in the 23-20 loss to Cincinnati due to the fact that Tomlin didn’t think he knew the plays.

Mendenhall said he didn’t have a chip on his shoulder. I was challenged and learned from it. I have always had the confidence in myself and knew sooner or later I would get a chance.

All it took was the first three plays in the game to show how the rematch of last year’s AFC playoff would end up playing out. Roethlisberger connected on 15 yard passes to Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward and Mike Wallace, the rookie for 35 yards. Mendenhall covered the last 14 yards in three carries to score the first touchdown of his career three minutes into the game.

Max Starks, tackle said, Rashard was able to really prove himself.

San Diego then went three and out, and the Steelers went on a 75 yard drive. The drive began with three runs from Mendenhall and was capped with Roethlisberger hitting Ward on a 15 yard pass, Holmes on one for 11 yards and two passes for twenty three yards to Moore. Moore caught the final pass on a 19 yard play for the touchdown.

Norv Turner, Chargers head coach said, they came out in the first half and were able to play about as well as you can play. From our point of view we obviously want to think that we could do things to be able to handle that. We just were not able to respond how I wanted us to.

Roethlisberger went 26 for 33 for a total of 333 yards. Ward had 113 yards on eight catches. Early in the game Roethlisberger had Pittsburgh moving so well that Tomlin let him go on a quarterback sneak for first down from the 30 yard line of the Steelers on fourth down and one. The Steelers scored their third touchdown of the game on a two yard run from Mendenhall.

Clinton Hart, Chargers safety said, in all phases they had it. It is hard stopping your opponent when they are going like that. They are the World Champions and they definitely cam out to play.

Mendenhall, whose rookie year last season came to an end during the fourth week due to a fractured shoulder, entered the game with a total of 103 rushing yards in his seven career games. By late third quarter he had over 100 yards and in the fourth quarter was able to add a run of thirty two yards versus the 26th ranked rushing defense in the NFL.

Mendenhall said he wanted people to know who he was. I was able to this time. It was the first time I played a full game in my career.

Tomlin said he wasn’t taking any credit since he didn’t rush for even a single yard.

Some NBC viewer may have been tempted to switch channels to CBS to watch “Three Rivers”, the medical drama based in Pittsburgh, after the Steelers took a 14-0 lead with about four minutes to go in the fourth quarter over the struggling Chargers.

It wasn’t Rivers’ fault. He basically had no running game supporting him. LaDainian Tomlin rushed for only 15 yards on 7 carries. Rivers, who threw for a total 739 yards in the previous two Chargers games, went 21 of 36 for 254 total yards and had three touchdowns. However he didn’t really have much of a chance to get the Chargers offense in gear until after it was too late. During the first half, Pittsburgh had the ball for almost 23 minutes while San Diego only had it for seven minutes.

Rivers said, we played a 1-2 team that was very hungry and were firing on all their cylinders. We had an off night. At least at the end we made it uncomfortable.

In was the third time playing at Heinz Field for the Chargers in eleven months, as many times as the University of Pittsburgh has played there, and lost for the third straight time. For the regular season, San Diego has a 0-14 record playing in Pittsburgh, although in the post season they have had two wins.

Before San Diego could have a possession that didn’t end in a punt they were down on the scoreboard 28-0. The Chargers were not able to get inside the 20 yard line until the third quarter when Gates had a three yard catch for a touchdown.

Early fourth quarter San Diego was able to cut the lead to 28-14. On a punt return Pittsburgh though that Stefan Logan was down before fumbling. He wasn’t though and Hester was able to run into the end zone uncontested. Pittsburgh challenged the call but were unsuccessful.

Notes
Counting the postseason, Pittsburgh has won eight home games in a row. For the time since 2002 and six games, San Diego lost to the previous year’s Super Bowl winner. Since their loss on January 1995 in the AFC championship game, Pittsburgh is 8-1 versus San Diego.