Pittsburgh Steelers- indianpolis vs Pittsburgh Steelers

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger spent a week
politely answering questions about Andrew
Luck, saying all the right things to anyone who
asked about how impressed he was with the
rising Indianapolis Colts star.
Then Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback delivered
a virtuoso performance not even the precocious
Luck could match.
Hot at the start and typically cool at the end,
Roethlisberger masterfully guided the Steelers
to a 51-34 victory Sunday that provided
Pittsburgh with the jolt of legitimacy it's been
searching for all season.
Roethlisberger set franchise records with 522
yards passing and six touchdowns while picking
up his 100th victory in his 150th start.
And though he insists he wasn't keeping track,
there's little chance Roethlisberger will forget
one of the most prolific days in NFL history.
"We just felt like they couldn't stop us because
we were just clicking," Roethlisberger said. "It
was one of those nights that players talk about
when things feel like they're going right."
The fact it went right against Luck -- who has
more than a little bit of Roethlisberger's
swashbuckling in him -- was purely incidental.
Probably, though Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
intentionally mentioned how great Luck was to
his quarterback more than once.
"He won't admit it but I'm sure (it bothered
him)," Tomlin said. "You don't ascend to the
position that he is professionally without that
competitive fire burning."
It scorched the Colts (5-3), ending Indianapolis'
five-game winning streak in record-setting
fashion.
Roethlisberger's yardage total was the fourth
highest in NFL history. He became the first
player to go over 500 yards passing twice as
the Steelers (5-3) won consecutive games for
the first time this season.
Antonio Brown caught 10 passes for 133 yards
and two scores. Heath Miller caught seven
passes for 112 yards and the clinching TD with
5:14 remaining.
Luck passed for 400 yards and three
touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.
He handed the Steelers a safety when he was
called for intentional grounding in the end zone
midway through the fourth quarter that
handed momentum to the Steelers.
"Just a bonehead play by me," Luck said.
The 907 combined yards passing were the
second most ever, trailing only the 971 yards
Detroit and Green Bay put up on Jan. 1, 2012.
The Colts gave up 639 yards and never led,
though Luck kept repeatedly threatening to pull
off a miracle akin to the 28-point rally he
engineered against Kansas City in last year's
wild-card playoff game.
Indianapolis trailed 35-10 in the second
quarter, but had the ball and 95 yards to go
down 42-34 midway through the fourth
quarter.
Luck, however, tripped over center Jonotthan
Harrison and fell on his backside at the goal
line. He flung the ball to the left, but there
wasn't a player in white anywhere close.
Officials awarded the Steelers a safety when
they flagged Luck for intentional grounding to
extend Pittsburgh's lead to 44-34.
"I'm not sure what happened on the trip," Luck
said. "I should have stayed on my feet."
The Steelers didn't sit on the lead, driving deep
into Indianapolis territory yet again. Facing
fourth-and-1 at the 11, Roethlisberger faked a
handoff and moved to his right, where he
found Miller in the back of the end zone for his
sixth and final touchdown pass.
"I'm not kicking the field goal right there and
go up by 13 and have these guys put two late
touchdowns on the board," Tomlin said. "We
were not taking our foot off the gas."
Roethlisberger joined Tom Brady , Roger
Staubach and Terry Bradshaw as the only
quarterbacks in the Super Bowl era to win at
least 100 games in their first 150 starts.
It's heady territory to be sure, though
Roethlisberger was more concerned about his
team finding some consistency after spending
the better part of two months alternating wins
and losses.
The Steelers wore striped gaudy yellow-and-
black striped jerseys borrowed from the 1934
team. The uniforms were the only thing old
school on a day Pittsburgh played at warp
speed.
Consider this: Pittsburgh's leading passer in
1934 was Warren Heller, who passed for 511
yards and two touchdowns in 12 games.
Roethlisberger better those totals in 60 nearly
flawless minutes.
"Ben is Ben," Brown said. "He never surprises
me. It's a great day at the office."
The Colts came in fresh off a shutout over
Cincinnati; the Bengals managed all of 135
yards and converted just one third down. The
Steelers had that by the end of the first quarter
as they took a 35-20 halftime lead.
The Steelers briefly flirted with tying the biggest
home collapse in NFL history before righting
themselves -- and their season -- behind their
dynamic leader.
Game notes
Roethlisberger is 18-1 at home in October
during his career. ... Miller joined John
Stallworth and Hines Ward as the only players
in team history with 500 receptions. ...
Indianapolis CB Vontae Davis (knee) and
linebacker Erik Walden (hip flexor) left and did
not return. ... Luck's sixth straight game of at
least 300 yards passing broke the club record
he shared with Peyton Manning .