Steelers win at San Diego 24-22, may lose Big Ben

By Hugo Guzman  |   Tuesday, October 11, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Pittsburgh Steelers
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The Pittsburgh Steelers won a tough road contest against the San Diego Chargers 24-22, but may have lost their franchise quarterback in the process. Ben Roethlisberger injured his left knee late in the fourth quarter after he was rolled into by Chargers rookie DT Luis Castillo.

Roethlisberger led the Pittsburgh Steelers on two touchdown drives in the second quarter to put the Steelers up 14-0. However, San Diego answered with a quick 4 play, 47 yard touchdown drive right before the half. Drew Brees hit TE Antonio Gates for an 11 yard scoring strike with only 34 seconds to play, making the score at halftime 14-7.

In the third quarter, the San Diego Chargers dominated but could only manage two short field goals. They added another field goal early in the fourth quarter to take a 16-14 lead. Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers immediately responded with a 3 play, 62 yard drive that consisted of three straight completions. The first two went to Hines Ward. The third went to rookie TE Heath Miller and was good for a touchdown to put the Steelers up 21-16. On the following drive LaDainian Tomlinson, who was bottled up for most of the night, made his presence felt. He carried the ball five times for 25 yards and paced the Chargers on an 11 play, 62 yard touchdown drive that he capped off with a 4-yard plunge into the endzone. San Diego went for a 2-point conversion to try and stretch their lead to three, but failed.

Refusing to be outdone, Ben Roethlisberger helped orchestrate an 11 play, 40 yard field goal drive that would prove to be the difference in the game. On that drive, Roethlisberger went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, but the damage had already been done. A rejuvenated Jerome Bettis, who saw his first action of the season tonight, pounded his way to 21 yards on 7 carries during this final drive to put the Steelers in field goal range. Jeff Reed sealed the victory with a 40-yard field goal in the final seconds.

Roethlisberger ended the day going 17 of 26 for 225 yards and one touchdown passing. He also ran for another score. His injury status is unclear. Jerome Bettis ended the game with 54 yards on 17 carries.

Drew Brees threw for 219 yards with one touchdown and one interception on 20-35 passing. Tomlinson managed only 62 yards on 18 carries.

The Pittsburgh Steelers improve to 3-1 while the San Diego Chargers drop to 2-3.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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