He wasn’t razor shape all game long, but Ben Roethlisberger was pretty darn good in his return this afternoon following a 4-game suspension. His 3 TD passes led the Steelers to a 28-10 win over visiting Cleveland.
As good as Roethlisberger was most of the game, Bruce Arians did a good job of pounding the football with Rashard Mendenhall who finished with 84 yards on 27 carries. Isaac Redman had several nice carries as well, finishing with 31 yards rushing.
The Steelers defense wasn’t totally dominant today but they did their job. Colt McCoy actually looked pretty decent in his NFL debut and did a good job of nickel and diming the Steelers defense with short passes. He looks like he could be the real deal for Cleveland someday. He completed 23 of 33 passes.
James Harrison made a big impact on the game too, albeit a literal one. He knocked his former college teammate Joshua Cribbs out of the game early and was leveling people all game long. The commentators on CBS mentioned several times that Harrison will be fined this week for the hit on Cribbs and others. I just didn’t see it that way at all. He wasn’t leaning with his helmet and had no intent to injure. Lawrence Timmons had another really nice game, leading the team with 9 tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception. He is a Pro Bowler this year. Mark it down.
The only frustrating part of the game was watching McCoy easily shred the Steelers defense late in the game for an easy score. This has started to become a habit in games that the Steelers are comfortably ahead. It doesn’t really matter outside of the stats, but I don’t like seeing a soft underbelly on this defense no matter the situation.
Much more on this game coming today and throughout the week. Go Steelers.
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