Roethlisberger was helped off the field with an apparent knee injury
shortly before Jeff Reed kicked a
40-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to give the Steelers a 24-22 win
over the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night
Football.
Roethlisberger thrust both fists in the air in celebration from the
bench, his left leg wrapped in ice and bandages.
"He laid it on the line," receiver Hines
Ward said of the second-year quarterback. "He's lying there
hurt on the ground, and he said to me, 'At least we're in field goal
range."'
Steelers coach Bill Cowher had no information on the exact nature or
severity of his QB's injury.
"It looked bad from what I saw up on the screen," Cowher said.
Trailing 22-21 in the fourth quarter, Roethlisberger moved the Steelers
into San Diego territory and had completed a 9-yard pass to Antwaan Randle El when he was hit on the knee by the helmet of
Chargers rookie lineman Luis Castillo.
Roethlisberger, whose knee was bent back awkwardly on the hit, was
driven off the field on a cart after the final gun.
Roethlisberger was replaced by Charlie Batch, who has played only a handful of downs the last three years. Batch handed
off three straight times to Jerome Bettis
before Reed's kick.
The Bus carried seven times for 21 yards on the winning drive.
"I went to Charlie and said, 'Give it to me, look it all the way in,
follow me as I go through, and I'll do the rest,'" said Bettis, who
missed the first three games with a calf injury sustained during the
exhibition season.
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Jerome Bettis made his 2005 debut in grand fashion in a Steelers win.
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Roethlisberger ran for one touchdown and threw for another, and Bettis
rushed for a TD in his season debut for the Steelers (3-1). San Diego
(2-3) had its two-game winning streak snapped.
"I feel great, I feel fresh," Bettis said after scoring a touchdown in
his season debut.
San Diego had gone ahead on LaDainian Tomlinson
's 2-yard run with 4:42 left. Tomlinson was stuffed on a two-point conversion
attempt that would have given the Chargers a 24-21 lead.
"It's 50-50 there," Chargers quarterback Drew Brees said. "Give it to the best running back in the league or
throw it to the best tight end in the league," he said, referring to Antonio Gates.
Tomlinson extended his NFL record by scoring a rushing touchdown in 17
straight games.
Stung by a loss to New England 15 days earlier and coming off their bye,
the Steelers bounced back with a crisp game by Roethlisberger and the
defense, which made Tomlinson and the rest of the San Diego offense look
average.
Tomlinson was held to 62 yards on 18 carries. Brees threw his first
interception in three games, which set up Bettis' TD run.
"That was probably the best defense I've faced as far as the run game in
my career," Tomlinson said.
Roethlisberger gave the Steelers a 21-16 lead on a 16-yard pass to Heath
Miller with 10:30 to go. He was impressive on the go-ahead drive,
completing it in only three passes. Starting on the Pittsburgh 38, the
second-year pro had completions of 33 and 13 yards to Ward before
hitting Miller for the touchdown.
Roethlisberger was 17 of 26 passing for 225 yards, with no
interceptions. Bettis gained 54 yards on 17 carries.
Bettis and Roethlisberger both scored in the second quarter. On
third-and-5 from the Chargers 7, Roethlisberger lined up in the shotgun,
took the snap and scrambled into the end zone.
His TD came four plays after his apparent 47-yard touchdown pass to
Hines Ward was overturned after a challenge by Chargers coach Marty
Schottenheimer.
Bettis scored on a 1-yard run. which capped a drive set up when James
Harrison intercepted Brees, hurdled Tomlinson and gained 25 yards before
being tripped up by Brees. An unnecessary roughness call against
Chargers guard Kris Dielman added 15 yards.
San Diego pulled to 14-7 on an 11-yard scoring pass from Brees to Gates
with 34 seconds left before halftime. That drive started after a 48-yard
kickoff return by rookie Darren Sproles.
The Chargers had gone ahead 16-14 on Nate Kaeding's third field goal of
the second half, from 41 yards with 11:41 to play. Kaeding also had
field goals of 34 and 32 yards in the third quarter.
Kaeding's 32-yarder, with 3:54 left in the third, came one play after
Willie Williams broke up a pass from Brees to Gates in the end zone.
Notes: San Diego had scored 12 touchdowns in 15 trips inside the
opponents' 20-yard line coming in, but was held to one TD and two field
goals the three times they got inside the Steelers 20. ... The game drew
a Chargers record crowd of 68,537.