Steelers rock Eagles’ world
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers made certain there’s nobody unbeaten now in the NFL, except for Ben Roethlisberger.
The Steelers combined their still-flawless new quarterback with a touch of the old — a Jerome Bettis of yesteryear and a defense that was Steel Curtain-tough — to dominate the Philadelphia Eagles 27-3 Sunday and leave the NFL without an undefeated team.
The Steelers (7-1) ended the Eagles’ seven-game winning streak a week after halting New England’s record 21-game winning streak with an equally impressive 34-20 victory. Pittsburgh is the only team in NFL history to stop unbeaten teams in consecutive weeks after each had won at least six games.
“Nobody ever thought we’d do this,” said Hines Ward, who scored the first two touchdowns. “We’re giving defensive coordinators heck trying to figure out what we’re going to do, with weapons all over the field and a quarterback who just keeps getting better.”
How much better can Big Ben get than this? Roethlisberger is 6-0 as a starter — the first rookie since the 1970 merger to do that since Pittsburgh’s Mike Kruczek filled in for an injured Terry Bradshaw in 1976.
Here’s the difference: Kruczek didn’t throw a TD pass all season on a team that won behind the Steel Curtain; Roethlisberger (11 of 18, 183 yards, two touchdowns) has thrown for 11 touchdowns while playing with the polish and growing confidence of a much more experienced player.
“He’s remarkable,” Eagles linebacker Mark Simoneau said. “Look at him on the field and he doesn’t look like a rookie, he looks like a guy who’s been around four or five years. Give the guy credit, he made plays all day long.”
Roethlisberger drove the Steelers to a 21-0 lead on their first three possessions with the help of Bettis’ 149 yards, his 55th career 100-yard game. The 1978 Steelers were the only other team in franchise history to start 7-1, en route to a 14-2 record and a Super Bowl title.
Ward scored on the first two drives, a 16-yard reverse and a 20-yard reception, then playfully mocked the Eagles (7-1) and star receiver Terrell Owens by flapping his arms Owens-like in the end zone each time.
No wonder Owens was screaming instead of strutting a week after celebrating a touchdown by imitating Ravens star Ray Lewis’ pregame dance. Owens, coming off five consecutive 100-yard games, didn’t catch his first pass until Pittsburgh led 21-0 and could be seen yelling at quarterback Donovan McNabb on the sidelines.
Owens ended with seven catches for 53 yards, and a heavily pressured McNabb was 15 of 24 for 109 yards and an interception.
“That just wasn’t our offense out there, but it happens,” McNabb said. “We’re not the first team undefeated that lost.”
McNabb and Owens downplayed the shouting incident, with both saying Owens was only trying to encourage the quarterback.
“When things aren’t happening, you get frustrated,” McNabb said. “He was there telling me to be positive about everything.”