The best “backup” in football, Ben Roethlisberger came off the bench and wrecked the Cleveland Browns. The Steelers go into the bye with a big win against the arch rival Browns. It was a huge day for Ben Roethlisberger, who wasn’t even supposed to play, but was called to duty when seven plays into the game Landry Jones injured his ankle. Big Ben completed 18 of 23 passes for 286 yards and two TDs in the first half and finish with and amazing 379 yards, a new NFL record for a quarterback coming off the bench!
It was obvious once Ben was pressed into duty, the game plan was to attack deep and get the ball out quickly. The line did a great job protecting Ben and the Browns only had one sack. He was rarely bothered and his lack of mobility never really played a factor. The Browns were intent on stopping the run which completely opened up the passing game.
The Browns secondary had no answer for Antonio Brown or Martavis Bryant, Todd Haley and Ben Roethlisberger basically sent either one deep on almost every series and stretched the Browns out. Bryant finished with a monster 178 Yards and made several big plays, he had a costly fumble but more than made up for it. Antonio Brown had nine catches including a 56 yard touchdown where he stuck the landing on a full front flip, that will be almost as famous as his “Karate Kid” impersonation last year. Both Heath Miller and Jesse (Don’t call me Heath) James chipped in with some nice production. The ghost of Markus Wheaton appeared and he had two very tough and solid catches. If he can get going this offense will once again be unstoppable. It was a great day for the passing game.
DeAngelo Williams had 54 of the toughest yards you have ever seen on the ground. The Browns were keyed in on him and he finally started to break loose in the second half. The Steelers need to be better with the distribution of the workload. Williams goes into the bye week for a much needed break. The Steelers need to factor in Jordan Todman more or they need to use Will Johnson in the tailback roll with Roosevelt Nix as the blocker. William needs some respite.
After a rough week against the Raiders the defensive front was back to being unstoppable. They held the Browns to 15 yards of total rushing on 14 carries and seven runs of 0 or negative yards in the first half, including five for losses. The linebackers contributed three sacks, the biggest by Ryan Shazier in the red zone after the Browns got to the Steelers 1 on a Johnny Manziel run for your life play. Jarvis Jones had his best game of the season with a sack and a fumble recovery. He played extremely tough against All Pro Joe Thomas. Stephon Tuitt and Steelhead Heyward each had sacks and Heyward was held on nearly every play. Will Allen also contributed a sack, and Arthur Moats had a sack negated as he literally tried to rip Johnny Manziel’s head off his shoulders with a wicked face mask.
The secondary had a bend but don’t break philosophy and kept the Browns contained for the most part. Mike Mitchell continues his fantastic season with a huge red zone interception. He snatched a Manziel pass in the end zone. The Steelers secondary hasn’t been spectacular but seem to make the plays when needed. Will Allen has been a nice steadying force back there and besides his sack he also had 11 tackles and made some big plays.
“Little Bos” had his first miss of the year, but continues to be a nice addition. Inversely, Jacoby Jones was awful again.
The referees also were way to involved in the game. They completely over officiated the game but allowed so much holding up front.
In the end the Steelers whipped up on a game but over matched Cleveland Browns team and head into the bye for rest!
BEER WE GO STEELERS, BEER WE GO!
My “GAME BEER” goes to: Has to be Ben Roethlisberger, who came off the bench and absolutely lit the Browns up, He did some job in relief. Also Considered: Antonion Brown who had 10 catches and a sports center highlight we will see for a long time. Cameron Heyward and Will Allen were also considered.
Where I watched the game: Back at my house, with KGB on my arm and my kids and the neighborhood kids. KGB whipped up Macaroni and Cheese bites as the game snack, I cooked Sausage and Peppers over Spaghetti for our dinner. I had to do the prep work during half time. The Beer of choice was Long Ireland Pumpkin and it was outstanding! The kids threw the ball around outside as it was a great day. Alex Janicki attended his first game and did great according to BWG founder Tom! We were very happy for him! 
My Stat of the week: 379 Yards, Bens total yardage as the greatest relief performance in the history of football. While it is a little dubious, I couldn’t be happier for Ben.
My thoughts on Next Week: The much needed Bye Week taking KGB on a “football vacation”! I will be publishing the “Mid Year” Report mist likely Friday so check back! If not definitely Monday!