JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Ben Roethlisberger had Reggie Hayward draped on his back one play and John Henderson breathing down his neck a few snaps later. Either one could have been a sack. Both almost were.
But Big Ben turned them into big completions, maybe the highlights of his big night that gave the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-1) a big boost in the AFC North.
Roethlisberger threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns, helping the Steelers overcome their offensive woes and leading them to a 26-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday night.
Roethlisberger finished 26-of-41, rebounding from an interception on his third pass that Rashean Mathis returned 72 yards for a score.
His perfect 8-yard fade pass to Hines Ward in the corner of the end zone put the Steelers ahead 26-21 with 1:53 remaining. Even better were those two passes on the drive with Jaguars hanging on his shoulder pads: one on the first play and the other on a critical third down.
“That’s Ben,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Sometimes he holds the ball too long, and the offensive line catches a bad rap for it. But you take the good with the bad because he can step up and deliver the way he delivered tonight.”
Roethlisberger had Hayward knocking him to the ground to open the drive but completed a 16-yard pass to Ward.
“That just got us going,” Ward said.
Seven plays later, facing third-and-8 at the Jacksonville 31 and trailing 21-20, he had Henderson in nearly the same position. Roethlisberger managed to get off another pass, this one an 18-yard completion to Ward that set up the go-ahead score.
“That was really the difference,” coach Jack Del Rio said after the Jaguars fell to 2-3. “If we don’t give up that play, it’s probably a little bit different feeling right now.”
Jaguars quarterback David Garrard was amazed by the throws.
“I’ve never seen something like that before in that situation, with the game on the line, guys pulling him to the ground and he throws it 20 yards down the field, on the money,” Garrard said.
