WOW, the Steelers won without Big Ben.
After one of its worst offensive games of the season in which they only scored 3 points against the San Francisco 49ers, the Steelers put together one of their best games of the season defeating the St. Louis Rams (2-13) 27-0. Actually it was their fourth best offensive effort of the year and their highest margin of victory.
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| NATIVE SON— Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch (16) looks for an open receiver downfield against the St. Louis Rams, on Dec. 24, at Heinz Field. (Courier Photo/Thomas Sabol)
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Charlie Batch who has been treated like a stepchild by Coach Mike Tomlin the past few weeks, stepped in for Ben Roethlisberger, and quietly went 15 of 22 for 208 yards with beautiful throws to Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Rashard Mendenhall and even Hines Ward. His only hiccup came on a second-quarter interception on which intended receiver Brown slipped.
He spread the ball around and gave the Rams a solid dose of Mendenhall on the ground, who carried 18 times for 116 yards, his second 100 yard game of the season.
Tomlin stated after much criticism for playing Roethlisberger the entire game against the 49ers that he felt the Steelers had the best chance to win with Big Ben, despite his injury. After a completely ineffective first half he still failed to insert Batch to at least give him a chance to fail. He could not have done any worse; the Steelers were scoreless in the first half. Batch took the slight in stride, not mumbling a word, but he had to be giddy after his performance against the Rams.
The win keeps the Steelers even with the Baltimore Ravens in the overall race but behind them in the AFC North race. If the Cincinnati Bengals, who kept their playoffs hopes alive last week with a 23-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals, can beat the Ravens and the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns, they would move into the second seed behind New England, if the Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills.
With the crowd chanting the name of Pittsburgh’s native son throughout, Batch played efficiently, if not spectacularly, passing for 208 yards to help the Steelers keep their hopes for an AFC North title very much alive.
“Nobody wants to let this team down,” Batch said. “One thing about it is we just try to keep the ball rolling, whoever is in there.”
Batch is now 5-2 as a spot starter with the Steelers and could get another shot this week against Cleveland when the Steelers go for their second straight division title.
“We’ve won games with (Batch) in the past; if need be, we will win games with him in the future,” Mike Tomlin said. “We are very comfortable with our depth at the quarterback position.”
The defense, dominated the NFL’s lowest-scoring offense to pitch its second shutout of the season.
“It’s about playing good ball at the right time,” Defensive End Brett Keisel said. “We need to build off this win and hopefully get one next week and carry that into the dance.”
St. Louis’ Steven Jackson rushed for 103 yards to top 1,000 for the seventh straight season, but backup quarterback Kellen Clemens sputtered in place of the injured Sam Bradford. St. Louis managed just 232 yards while getting blanked for the second time in 20 days.
Clemens, signed less than three weeks ago, completed 9 of 24 passes for 91 yards. He didn’t turn it over, but he couldn’t make anything happen against the league’s top-ranked defense.
After the sterling performance by Batch, one would think that he would finish up the season for the Steelers giving Roethlisberger’s ankle more time to heal for the playoffs. But there are rumors that Ben has said he’s ready to play, which means he runs the risk of further injury to the ankle and being out of the playoffs.
Antonio Brown broke Barry Foster’s all purpose yardage record of 2034 with 2048, with one game left. Foster set the record in 1992. Hines Ward is just 5 catches short of reaching 1,000.
While most of Batch’s passes were short or midrange, he did get the ball downfield on a couple of occasions, including a 46-yard pass to Wallace in the fourth quarter that set up Mendenhall’s 1-yard plunge that put Pittsburgh ahead 20-0.Wallace had 4 catches for 82 yards, his best game in a while. Brown just had 3 catches for 34 yards. Ward had 4 for 32 yards giving him 995 for his career.
It was more than enough cushion for a defense that looked just fine even without injured outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley, who continues to nurse a strained right hamstring. James Harrison collected his ninth sack of the season in his return from a one-game suspension and Pittsburgh never let St. Louis get within 10 yards of the end zone.
The Steelers were never in any real danger as Mendenhall found plenty of room to maneuver, while Batch extended a couple of plays with his feet to keep drives alive.
The Browns who have played just about everyone tough this season gave the Ravens a tough game, but Baltimore was able to pull it out. But the Browns would love nothing better than to upset the Steelers this weekend, and if there’s a letdown they could do just that.
Playoff picture: With one week left, the New England Patriots still need to win to have home field throughout the playoffs. The Baltimore Ravens must win to keep second seed, because if they lose and the Steelers win, the Steelers replace them as the second seed, and they will be on the road instead of home. If New England loses, Baltimore loses and the Steelers win, Pittsburgh would have home field advantage.
The Houston Texans loss last week puts them in the third seed no matter what they do this week. The winner of the AFC West, which is in the air, will be the fourth seed. The Denver Broncos, and Oakland Raiders are battling for that spot. If the Broncos win, they take the division.
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