Ben Roethlisberger was not perfect in his return to a game that mattered Sunday afternoon, but he didn't need to be to beat the Browns.
View full sizeWith three touchdown passes in his return to the Steelers, there was plenty for Ben Roethlisberger to celebrate on Sunday. "It's football for me," he said. "I'm just happy to be out there, to be with those guys and win a football game."PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was not perfect in his return to a game that mattered Sunday afternoon, but he brought more than enough to help defeat the Browns in Heinz Field.
Roethlisberger completed 16 of 27 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-10 victory. He was intercepted once and posted a 112.7 rating.
Roethlisberger had served a four-game suspension for violations of the NFL's personal-conduct policy. The Steelers went 3-1 in his absence.
"I thought Ben played well -- but I'm not surprised by that," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He was sharp in training camp and in the preseason. He came in in great condition and he's been working. When given the opportunity, we know this guy's capable of playing the way he did."
Roethlisberger's first pass of the season went to Rashard Mendenhall for three yards early in the first quarter. Later in the drive, though, he missed badly on third-and-4 from the Cleveland 14. The pass intended for Mewelde Moore landed in the hands of Browns defensive back Joe Haden at the 3. Haden returned it 62 yards.
"I got a little antsy," Roethlisberger said. "Mewelde Moore was open. I wanted to get him the ball right away when I needed to just settle down and get it to him."
View full sizeParticularly in a first half that ended with just a 7-3 Steelers lead, Ben Roethlisberger had a few difficult moments -- including pressure from Shaun Rogers on this play that led to an incomplete pass. But he finished 16-of-27 for 257 yards with three TDs and an interception.For the remainder of the game, Roethlisberger looked like the quarterback who has won two Super Bowls and who owns the Browns. Roethlisberger improved to 11-1 against Cleveland.
"It's football for me," he said. "I'm just happy to be out there, to be with those guys and win a football game."
Roethlisberger threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace in the second quarter to make it 7-3. His eight-yard completion to Hines Ward in the third gave the Steelers a 14-3 cushion. His third scoring pass, 14 yards to Heath Miller, came with 1:25 remaining in the fourth and accounted for the final margin.
"I didn't really want Ben to be flawless coming back," Wallace said. "If he had been, we wouldn't have anything to work on."
Wallace finished with three catches for a game-high 90 yards. As important as touchdowns are, a Roethlisberger-to-Wallace strike for 50 yards late in the third quarter arguably was Pittsburgh's offensive play of the game.
After Browns punter Reggie Hodges pinned Pittsburgh at its 4, Roethlisberger dropped back in the end zone. He sidestepped a blitz by Eric Wright and unloaded a fraction of a second before being blasted by linebacker Scott Fujita. Wallace waited patiently at the other end.
"You're at risk near the goal line, so I just chucked it," Roethlisberger said. "It was one of those plays where we wanted to take a shot. [Fujita] got my arm when I let it go, but fortunately the ball was gone when he hit me."
The Steelers eventually had first-and-goal. On third-and-goal from the 8, Roethlisberger found Ward, who bulled his way into the end zone for a double-digit lead. The drive covered the 96 yards in five plays.
Roethlisberger's off-field conduct had put his team in a potentially bad spot, but the Heinz Field faithful greeted him with loud, positive noise during introductions. For those Browns fans who have an intense dislike for Roethlisberger, they may or may not want to know that Big Ben was touched by the warm welcome back.
"Amazing!" he said. "I got a little bit of tears in my eyes. To hear a cheer like that was truly something special."