So much was made of the Steelers’ “Big Three” entering the 2016 season.
Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell were supposed to light up scoreboards enough to be visible from space.
That hasn’t quite happened, but when the Steelers have needed points, the Big Three has come up big in clutch situations.
The Steelers clinched the AFC North and the No. 3 seed in the playoffs with their 31-27 win over the Ravens on Sunday at Heinz Field. Their vaunted offense produced just 10 points in the first three quarters before exploding for 21 in the fourth.
Bell scored two touchdowns in the final frame and Brown caught the game-winning, 4-yard touchdown with nine seconds left.
One stretch.
FOR THE DIVISION…Well done, @AntonioBrown. #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/W9AP2lYmlA
— NFL (@NFL) December 26, 2016
Brown’s effort on that play was clutch not only in a mental sense but a physical sense as well. The Steelers had no timeouts and after catching the ball Brown needed the oomph to get the ball into the end zone surrounded by Ravens’ color rush jerseys. In what could have been the last play of the game, Brown stuck his arm out and got the ball across the plane, and the Steelers will have at least one home game in their bid to qualify for the ninth Super Bowl in franchise history.
The Steelers’ Big Three are among the 10 players who raise their game the most in the clutch.
Ben Roethlisberger
The Steelers trailed the Ravens 20-10 in the fourth quarter with the division title on the line, but this wasn’t Ben Roethlisberger’s first rodeo.
Roethlisberger earned his second Super Bowl ring by pinpointing the game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds left, giving the Steelers a 27-23 win over the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
Two years later, Roethlisberger brought the Steelers back to the Super Bowl. In a 13-10 win at Baltimore that ultimately earned the Steelers the division title and a first-round bye, Roethlisberger faced third-and-goal from the 9 needing a touchdown with less than three minutes left. He threw a screen pass to Isaac Redman and the running back did the rest, fighting his way into the end zone for the winning score.
Roethlisberger also came up big in the Steelers’ most recent playoff win. He left the game with a shoulder injury courtesy of Vontaze Burfict. The Bengals had a chance to put the wild-card game away, but Jeremy Hill fumbled with 1:36 left and Roethlisberger re-entered the game. Unable to throw downfield, he completed five of seven passes for 40 yards, including a 12-yarder to Antonio Brown on fourth down. The Bengals imploded after that, committing those two infamous 15-yard penalties to put the Steelers in position for Chris Boswell’s game-winning field goal.
If Roethlisberger hadn’t willed the Steelers into Cincinnati territory, the Bengals might been able to keep their emotions in check and hold on.
Antonio Brown
It’s funny to think now that Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders were taken by the Steelers in the same draft, and that Sanders was a third-round pick while Brown was a sixth-round pick.
In 2o10, their rookie year, Sanders caught 28 passes in the regular season and Brown caught 16. But Brown established himself as a clutch player in the playoffs. The Steelers and Ravens were tied 24-24 in a divisional playoff game at Pittsburgh and the Steelers faced a third-and-19 from their own 38 with just over two minutes left. It was no time to concede a punt, so Ben Roethlisberger went deep to Brown and in sort of an off-Broadway David Tyree production Brown trapped the ball against his helmet for the 58-yard reception. That set up what turned out to be the winning touchdown and it wouldn’t be the last time Brown would play a huge role in eliminating the Ravens.
Brown had just one catch the following week in the AFC championship game against the Jets, but he picked a good time to do it. The Steelers clung to a 24-19 lead with two minutes left after leading 24-0. On third-and-6 from the Jets 40, Roethlisberger found Brown for 14 yards and the Steelers were on their way to the Super Bowl.
Since 2013, Brown has caught 481 passes. That’s a record for a four-year span. He’s led the NFL in receptions for two straight years and leads this year, but could be overtaken on Sunday assuming he rests in a meaningless game against the Browns.
If he does rest, he’ll have earned it by catching six passes for 73 yards in the fourth quarter on Christmas. The last of those receptions could get a name at some point.
Has somebody already said "The Immaculate Extension"? If not, I'd like full credit
— Joe Starkey (@JoeStarkey1) December 26, 2016
Le’Veon Bell
Le’Veon Bell ran for a 7-yard touchdown to pull the Steelers to within 20-17 in the fourth quarter on Sunday. Pittsburgh was pinned at its own 10 on its next possession, but Bell sparked the drive with a 23-yard run. He added a 13-yard run and eventually caught a 7-yard touchdown pass to give the Steelers a 24-20 lead.
In Week 15, Bell ran for 64 of his 93 yards in the second half to help the Steelers chip away at a 20-6 deficit with field goals in a game they won 24-20. The week before, Bell ran for a franchise-record 236 yards in a 27-20 win at Buffalo. Perhaps the most important of those yards were the three he gained for a touchdown on third-and-2 that gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. The snowy weather that day wasn’t conducive to falling behind.
Even though Bell missed the final eight games last season after Vontaze Burfict shredded his knee, he still saved the Steelers’ season at San Diego in Week 5. With Ben Roethlisberger sidelined, the Steelers were 2-2 and down 20-17 with five seconds left. Just as they did Sunday against the Ravens, the Steelers eschewed the field goal and pushed all their chips into the middle of the table by snapping the ball to Bell in the wildcat. Bell broke a couple of tackles and scored the winning touchdown with no time on the clock.
https://youtu.be/pGb1FLm1FkE
The Steelers might not have had Bell in the playoffs last season, but he sure helped get them there.
Russell Wilson
Russell Wilson didn’t seem too clutch in the 2014 NFC championship game. He threw four interceptions against Green Bay, and the fourth one looked like it would be the killer. It came with just over five minutes left and the visiting Packers leading 19-7.
But when it mattered most, Wilson engineered an epic comeback.
He completed six of his final seven passes for 134 of his 209 yards. That doesn’t count his most uncanny completion on a broken play to Luke Willson for a two-point conversion after the Seahawks had taken a 20-19 lead. It turned out the Seahawks needed those points because the Packers kicked a field goal to force overtime.
The Seahawks won the toss and the Packers didn’t touch the ball in OT. Wilson threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse to put the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.
Wilson might have thrown the most infamous interception in Super Bowl history two weeks later. Since then, however, he’s added to his clutch resumé. He led the Seahawks from a 9-0 fourth-quarter deficit to a 10-9 wild-card win at Minnesota last year, aided by an Adrian Peterson fumble and a missed Blair Walsh field goal.
Who knows how differently this season would have turned out for the Seahawks if Wilson hadn’t led them to come-from-behind wins in the final minutes against the Dolphins (12-10) in Week 1 and the Falcons in Week 6 (26-24).
Tom Brady
If you’re in the company of Joe Montana and Terry Bradshaw, you’ve come through in the clutch somewhere along the way.
Brady, Montana and Bradshaw are the only quarterbacks who have won four Super Bowls. Brady, the leader among active quarterbacks with 38 fourth-quarter comebacks, had to rise to the occasion to win three of his rings. He led game-winning field goal drives to beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI and the Panthers in Super Bowl XXXVIII. In the latter, the Patriots were down 22-21 with less than three minutes left when Brady threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to linebacker Mike Vrabel. It wasn’t the first time Brady threw to Vrabel, but to pull out a gadget play with the Super Bowl on the line took some guts.
Redskins are 1-16 AT HOME on Monday Night Football since the start of 1998.
Tom Brady has 16 home losses in his CAREER
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 20, 2016
In Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots trailed 24-14 in the fourth quarter when Brady threw two touchdown passes in the final eight minutes. The Patriots never even faced a third down on their go-ahead drive, an 11-play, 64-yard march.
Brady still had to sit and watch after throwing that 3-yard TD pass to Julian Edelman, and what he saw was Russell Wilson throwing away his second Super Bowl ring while handing Brady his fourth.
Eli Manning
Tom Brady’s kryptonite in Super Bowls has been the Giants, and Eli Manning has a lot to do with that.
Manning won two Super Bowl rings with clutch performances to beat the Patriots. He didn’t do much to bolster his clutch cred when the Giants missed the playoffs in each of the last four years, but he’s led the Giants back to the playoffs this year with the help of three fourth-quarter comebacks. His 30 career fourth-quarter comebacks are second to Brady among active quarterbacks.
In beating the unbeaten Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII and 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI, Manning led the Giants from behind in the final minute. The most famous snapshot from those game-winning drives was his third-down completion to David Tyree with Patriots draped all over him, and Tyree pinning the third-down pass to his helmet.
His older brother might be more talented, but Eli Manning is better under pressure.
Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford has gained admission into the Clutch Club this year by leading the NFL in fourth-quarter comebacks with eight, a single-season record accounting for eight of the Lions’ nine wins this year.
The most memorable of those comebacks came in Week 9, when the Lions won 22-16 in overtime at Minnesota to improve to 5-4.
The Vikings went ahead 16-13 with 23 seconds left. The Lions were out of timeouts. Stafford completed an 8-yard pass to Golden Tate and a 27-yard pass to Andre Roberts, who has just 14 catches this season. He spiked the ball with two seconds left and Matt Prater forced overtime with a 58-yard field goal.
In overtime, Stafford directed a 12-play, 87-yard touchdown drive. He converted three third downs along the way and threw a game-winning 28-yard touchdown pass to Tate.
Of the teams on the losing end of Stafford’s fourth-quarter comebacks, only the Redskins have a chance to make the playoffs. And if the Redskins make it, the Lions won’t. Stafford and the Lions won’t have to worry about the Redskins if they beat the Packers in Detroit on Sunday night. A win would give the Lions their first division title since 1991, but for that to happen, Stafford’s mettle might be tested one more time.
Matt Prater
While Matthew Stafford’s arm has Detroit on the cusp of its first division title in a quarter century, the Lions wouldn’t be in this position without Matt Prater’s leg.
Prater has two game-tying and four game-winning field goals this season. The first was a 29-yarder with 1:28 left and the Lions down two to the Eagles in Week 5. The Lions won the game 24-23, handing the Eagles their first loss. Beating the Eagles seemed a lot harder then than it does now, but Prater succeeded in tougher spots as the year went on.
The following week, Prater kicked a 34-yard field goal for the deciding points in a 31-28 home win over the Rams.
At Minnesota in Week 9, Prater booted a 53-yarder in the fourth quarter and the game-tying 58-yarder with two seconds left to set up the Lions’ overtime win. Prater got the Vikings again three weeks later, kicking a 48-yard field goal to tie the game with 1:45 left, then nailing the game-winner from 40 as time ran out.
Matt Prater has made 6 FG from 50+. Jason Hanson only made that many once in his long, decorated #Lions career.
— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) December 11, 2016
Prater also was the leg behind Tebowmania in 2011. He made four game-winning field goals for the Broncos and three game-tying field goals in the last two minutes. That included a 59-yarder in Denver aganist the Bears to send a game into overtime. Then he made a 51-yard field goal for the win.
Prater also holds the record for the longest field goal at 64 yards, but that came in the Broncos’ 51-28 win over the Titans in 2013. That three-touchdown margin of victory must have made the 64-yard kick easy for Prater.
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers cemented his status as a clutch player with his two Hail Marys last season.
Only one of them led to a win, but Rodgers forced overtime in a divisional playoff game at Arizona with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Janis as time ran out. The Packers lost that game in overtime, but they might not have gone that far if Rodgers hadn’t found Richard Rodgers for a 61-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary to give the Packers a 27-23 win at Detroit in Week 13.
The Packers trailed that game 23-14 with seven minutes left, but Rodgers ran for a 17-yard TD with 3:12 left to set the stage for the Hail Mary.
Rodgers and the Packers return to the scene of the victorious Hail Mary Sunday night. If they win at Detroit, they win the NFC North. A division title seemed far-fetched when the Packers were 4-6, but since then they’ve won five straight. Rodgers kept that streak going in Chicago two weeks ago. The Packers had just blown a 27-17 fourth quarter lead and overtime loomed. With 31 seconds left and no timeouts, Rodgers completed a 60-yard pass to Jordy Nelson on third-and-11. That set up Mason Crosby’s game-winning field goal.
Aaron Rodgers' last 6 games (this one included): 141-202, 1718 yards, 14 TDs, 0 INTs.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) December 24, 2016
Derek Carr
The Raiders are in the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, but they’ll be without Derek Carr. The third-year quarterback led them to the playoffs by rising up the ranks of the NFL’s clutch players.
Carr has 12 career fourth-quarter comebacks, the same number that Cam Newton has in six years. He’s second to Stafford this season with seven fourth-quarter comebacks. In three of those, he’s led the Raiders from behind in the last three minutes.
First came a touchdown pass to Seth Roberts with 52 seconds left at New Orleans in Week 1. The Raiders still trailed by a point and went for two. Carr hit Michael Crabtree to give the Raiders a 35-34 win and set the tone for a memorable season.
In Week 4 at Baltimore, Carr threw a 23-yard TD pass to Crabtree with 2:12 left and the Raiders hung on for a 28-27 win.
In Week 8 at Tampa Bay, Carr threw a game-tying, 7-yard TD pass to tight end Mychal Rivera. Then with 1:55 left in overtime, Carr once again carried out Jack Del Rio’s fearless philosophy. On fourth down from the Tampa Bay 41, Carr threw to Roberts for the game-winning touchdown.
Carr had surgery on his broken leg Tuesday, and there’s a chance he could play in the Super Bowl if the Raiders somehow get that far. If that happens, Carr would bring a whole new dimension to the definition of “clutch.”
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
