Big Ben guts it out as Steelers stick it to Browns once more

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger laid on the Heinz Field turf, convinced his left leg was broken. The Pittsburgh Steelers huddled around their franchise quarterback, concerned their promising season was in jeopardy.

Fortitude: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is helped off the field after injuring his left ankle in the second quarter against Cleveland. The Steelers won 14-3. AP

Not quite.

Same old Big Ben. And same old Cleveland Browns.

Roethlisberger added to his burgeoning reputation as one of the toughest players in the game by returning from a gruesome second-quarter sack to pass for 280 yards and two scores — including a 79-yard strike to Antonio Brown with 2:52 remaining — to lift the Steelers to a 14-3 victory Thursday night.

"You can't say enough about our quarterback," Brown said. "It's amazing to play with a guy like that who exemplifies that type of toughness."

Not that Roethlisberger felt particularly tough after getting his left leg caught underneath Cleveland's Scott Paxson midway through the second quarter.

"It was one of the most painful things I ever felt," Roethlisberger said. "It felt like the middle of my leg was just, cracked . . . it felt like my foot was outside of my leg."

He went to the locker room for X-rays while veteran Charlie Batch tried to fill in. The X-rays showed no break and Roethlisberger returned.

"Doctors said 'Just keep moving,' " Roethlisberger said. "As we kept going they said, 'Just keep moving' because it literally felt like it was about to explode."

Roethlisberger received a rousing ovation when he walked back onto the field to start the second half, though it was obvious he was in serious pain. He hobbled to the line of scrimmage, he tip-toed while handing the ball off and he grimaced while stepping up to throw.

Yet he somehow completed 8 of 12 passes for 178 yards after the break, including the sealing touchdown to Brown, who caught the ball near midfield then beat Cleveland's Mike Adams to the end zone.

"I'm proud of him and glad he scored because I wouldn't have been able to make it down there if we had to run another play," Roethlisberger said, laughing.

Roethlisberger will have an MRI exam Friday to determine the extent of the damage. Pittsburgh has 10 days off before a game in San Francisco.

Brown finished with five receptions for 151 yards and a score as the Steelers (10-3) won for the eighth time in their last nine games to move a half-game in front of Baltimore for the AFC North lead.

Yet the night won't be remembered for Brown's spectacular catch-and-run but Roethlisberger's John Wayne impersonation and Cleveland's typical meltdown against its biggest rival.

The Browns (4-9) lost for the 15th time in their last 16 games with the Steelers, though they had plenty of chances to pick up their first victory at Heinz in eight years.

Colt McCoy passed for 209 yards but also threw two interceptions for Cleveland (4-9).

McCoy left briefly in the fourth quarter after taking a crashing helmet-to-helmet hit from Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison.

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