Wins, not records, concern Steelers
PITTSBURGH – Seemingly every year in training camp, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger talks about how the offense is poised to be the best he’s played with.
As it turns out, this year Roethlisberger was right.
Heading into their final three games, the Steelers are on pace to shatter team records for scoring, total yards and passing yards, while Roethlisberger, wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell should also set a number of individual records.
But those records are hardly the focus for the Steelers (8-5) as they prepare to face the Falcons (5-8) on Sunday in Atlanta. Securing another win and taking another step toward ending a two-year playoff drought are much more important.
“We don’t care about that. We’re just trying to win football games,” said Roethlisberger. “We’ve got a lot of great football players on both sides of the ball. I think each guy, individually, is trying to help this team win football games.”
The offensive numbers, however, are hard to ignore, especially since some of the records are likely to fall this week against the Falcons.
Brown, who leads the NFL with 105 receptions, needs six catches to break Hines Ward’s team record of 110. Brown hasn’t had fewer than five catches in a game this season had has had at least seven in 11 of the team’s 13 games. With 1,375 yards receiving, he also needs 125 yards to break Yancey Thigpen’s team record.
Bell, who has 1,924 yards from scrimmage, also should break Barry Foster’s team record for total yards in a season of 2,034. Last week at Cincinnati, Bell had 235 total yards, his third consecutive game of 200 or more.
And Roethlisberger needs three touchdown passes to match his own team record of 32 set in 2007. He also needs 275 yards passing to break his record of 4,328 set in 2009.
“I don’t know about the numbers and stats because for us, it’s about winning and losing,” said Roethlisberger. “At the end of the season, we can reflect on individual seasons or stats.”
Following last Sunday’s 42-21 win at Cincinnati, head coach Mike Tomlin called Roethlisberger, Brown and Bell, the Steelers’ “Big Three.”
It’s not quite as catchy as “The Triplets,” the nickname given to Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in Dallas in the 1990s, but the Steelers’ trio might be reaching that status.
“This offense is playing at a very high level,” said Atlanta head coach Mike Smith of the Steelers. “It starts at quarterback. This is a quarterback-driven league. The running game has been outstanding. We’ve been very impressed with Bell.
“(Brown) is a dynamic receiver. There are challenges. If you roll to receiver and try to take a receiver away, you’re light stopping the run. It is problematic for defenses.”
Those problems include Roethlisberger, Bell and Brown ranking second in the league at their respective positions in yards.
They’ve been a big part of a Pittsburgh offense that has scored 40 or more points a team-record three times and 30 or more seven times, which matches a team record.
But the records won’t matter without the wins.
“We can’t be mentioned with the other great (trios) until we win a championship,” said Brown. “Until we do that, we’re just good, not great.”
The Steelers signed cornerback Kevin Fogg to their practice squad and released safety Jordan Dangerfield. Fogg had previously been with the Miami Dolphins. … Bell was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance last Sunday against the Bengals. It is the first time he has won that award, and he is the first Steelers running back to win the award since Rashard Mendenhall in 2011. … Cornerback William Gay (quad), linebacker James Harrison (knee) and cornerback Ike Taylor (shoulder, forearm) did not practice for the Steelers Wednesday because of injury. … Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle) was limited.