Steelers earn key playoff-positoning win

A week after losing a heartbreaker to the New York Jets, the Pittsburgh Steelers rebounded in style

Thursday night and inched one game closer to clinching the AFC North with a dominant 27-3 win at

home against the Carolina Panthers. The Steelers, who clinched a pla

yoff berth despite the loss last

week, improved 11-4 and now sit a half-game in front of the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC

North. The Steelers would clinch the AFC North with a Ravens loss at Cleveland this week or a win next week against the Browns

Taking the field on a chilly night against an opponent with nothing to play for, the home team’s

defense dropped the Steel Curtain on Carolina, sacking the opposing quarterback four times and

creating two turnovers. Preparation was key in the short week, and it paid off.

But most impressive on the night was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who showed off the long ball

with the offense’s young crop of weapons. The Steelers’ offense resembled the potent assault of the

Philadelphia Eagles with its speedy receivers, do-it-all running back and veteran leadership at

quarterback.

Roethlisberger again great under pressure

The Steelers quarterback was efficient all night, completing 22 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown.

Playing with a broken foot and nose that was bloodied in the first quarter, Roethlisberger played like

his usual self. Several times, he fought off defenders while under pressure and completed

intermediate-range passes. In the second quarter, Roethlisberger connected with Mike Wallace on a

short slant route that ignited the crowd of 61,000-plus at Heinz Field when Wallace sprung free for a 43-yard touchdown.

Wallace becoming a superstar

Speaking of Wallace, in early April, the Steelers front office made a decision to trade their 2009 Super

Bowl MVP wide receiver Santonio Holmes for a fifth-round pick to the Jets. The move was a sign of

confidence in Wallace. The second-year receiver from ‘Ole Miss had four catches for 104 yards,

showing off his speed on several occasions. Wallace has breached the 100-receiving yard mark six times

this season and has even matched a long-standing record set by a Steeler legend, tying John

Stallworth’s record of 24 20-yard receptions in a season.

His performance was also complemented by a consistent rushing presence by running back Rashard

Mendenhall.

Mendenhall: Steeler ground game personified

Although Mendenhall didn’t have his best game of the season numbers-wise, he posed as a valuable

threat, baiting the Carolina defense into selling to out try to stopping the run. Mendenhall was utilized

at the goal-line as a short-yardage back whose job was to punishopposing defenders. On the Steelers’

first offensive play of the game, the third-year running back from Illinois gashed the Panthers’ defense

on a counter for 35 yards. Carolina did well to stop Mendenhall after that, bottling him up for only 30

more yards on the night. But he played the role of a typical Steelers running back very well – attacking

defenders at full speed.

The persistent attack allowed Pittsburgh to control the clock and rest its league-best defense.

Steelers defense punishes young Carolina offense

The Pittsburgh defense played particularly well in the absence its leader, Troy Polamalu. The All-Pro

safety was inactive after suffering an Achilles injury in Week 14. The safety was missed, but other

leaders stepped up. The defense flexed its league-best against-the-rush muscle, negating the

Panthers' only offensive strong point. Carolina running back Jonathan Stewart, the league’s leading

rusher since Week 12, was limited to only 71 yards on 18 carries. Against the pass, Pittsburgh

defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau dialed up blitzes, constantly harassing Panthers quarterback Jimmy

Clausen throughout the night. Clausen, a rookie from Notre Dame, was sacked four times and, on one

somewhat rare occasion when he found enough time to actually get a long throw off, was

Panthers need long-term solution at QB

Dropping another game to fall to 2-13, the Panthers have all but secured the No. 1 overall pick in the

2011 NFL Draft. Assuming Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck forgoes his final year of collegiate

eligibility and declares for the draft, Carolina must at least consider selecting him if they wind up with

the top pick. Although Clausen is only a rookie and hasn’t had enough time to develop as an NFL

quarterback, his throws are inconsistent and his deep ball is very inaccurate.

intercepted by cornerback Bryant McFadden.

New York Jets speaks to fans: 'I'm good at what I do'

Four days after hearing Jets fans call for his job, Brian Schottenheimer fired back, defending his performance in the wake of back-to-back no-show outings by the Jets' offense.

"I know I'm a damn good football coach. I'm good at what I do," Schottenheimer said. "We've had a lot of success here. Are we pleased? Absolutely not. Am I disappointed? Absolutely. All I can say is that I'm going to do the best job that I can. I'm going to bust my ass. And that's the message we'll hold on to."

There's been an outcry over Schottenheimer's play calling in the wake of the Jets' two-game losing streak. They've scored a grand total of nine points in losses to the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins, and Schottenheimer's play-calling has been labeled everything from predictable to pathetic, particularly after Sunday's 10-6 loss to Miami.

Quarterback Mark Sanchez finished that day 17-for-44 for 216 yards and the Jets averaged just 2.8 yards per rush against the Dolphins. Making matters worse, both Miami scores came after Sanchez turned the ball over in Jets territory.

After the game, Jets fans outside of the postgame interview area at the New Meadowlands Arena chanted "Schotty Must Go."

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't hear it," Schottenheimer said. "It's not the first time I've ever heard it. I don't have time to worry about it."

Schottenheimer has been "on both sides" of a fan base calling for a coach's job. He said he was in the stands when fans called for the firing of his father, Marty, in Cleveland, Kansas City and San Diego.

"It's always harder on the families. I always worry about my wife, my kids," he said. "[But] it comes with the territory."

Schottenheimer also has the full support of his players, who know there's plenty of blame to pass around.

"The coach can't get out there and play," running back LaDainian Tomlinson said. "He calls the plays and it's up to us to go out there and execute it."

Just as the Jets were doing when they scored 23 or more points while winning nine of 10 games before their two-game skid.

"Earlier in the year, when we were putting up 30 points a game, everybody's like, 'Schotty's calling great plays,' and you heard that talk," Tomlinson said. "Now when we haven't scored a touchdown the last couple of games, it's Schotty's fault. It isn't Schotty's fault. It's our fault. We need to play better. We need to make more things happen when we get the ball in our hands."

On Monday morning, head coach Rex Ryan sat in on the offensive coaches meeting, offering what Schottenheimer called "a different perspective" on the team's woes with the ball in their hands.

Ryan isn't usually in on the offensive meetings. On Thursday, he downplayed the impact of his attendance. But he curiously didn't mention Schottenheimer by name when he gave support to his "offensive staff."

"I think it hasn't been our day lately and I give the opponents credit as well," Ryan said. "That doesn't mean I have lost confidence in the staff. It's a great staff."

Earlier in the week, Ryan was critical of Schottenheimer's decision to spike the ball when the Jets had a 1st-and-10 at their own 47 with a litttle more than a minute to play. Schottenheimer said he wanted the offense to gather itself before running the next play and accepted responsibility for the call.

It doesn't get any easier for Schottenheimer's unit. This week they face a Steelers defense that is tied for first in the league in sacks (39) and is allowing just 60.1 rushing yards per game.

"This is a business of high highs and low lows. When we were 9-2, a lot of people were patting us on the back," Schottenheimer said. "People were telling us how great we were. ... It doesn't take very long to go from one extreme to the other. That's why you have to take the good with the bad. You've got to keep working, be the same person week in and week out. But it's been a tough week."