Pittsburgh Steelers That's More Like It!

      Last week the Pittsburgh Steelers seemed to play only half a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even though the Steelers squeaked out a win, they didn't play as well as they were capable of. Finally they played well on both sides of the ball and defeated the Arizona Cardinals 32-20. Ben had a great day passing and the defense stepped up in critical situations. Because the Baltimore Ravens lost to the Tennessee Titans Monday night, the Steelers find themselves on top the AFC North with a 5-2 record. The New England Patriots and Tom Brady will come into Heinz Field this week and the Steelers will have to play even better against them.

The Steelers Another Tale Of Two Halfs

The Pittsburgh Steelers looked pretty good in the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Steelers offense scored 17 points in the first half and went totally flat in the second. If it wasn't for a shaky defense only giving up 13 unanswered points, the Steelers could have easily lost to a not so good Jaguars team. As it is the beat up Pittsburgh Steelers limped to a 4-2 record.

With the Baltimore Ravens at 4-1, leading the division and the Cincinnati Bengals 4-2, the Steelers have not yet started the hardest part of their schedule. After the 1-4 Arizona Cardinals in week 7 they will have to deal with Baltimore again, the New England Patriots, the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati twice. If they're going to make the playoffs, the Steelers will need to beat some of those good teams. So, strap it on Steelers and play we know you can.

Big Ben And Max Starks Stand Tall In 38-17 Steelers Win

Ben Roethlisberger tied the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise record with Terry Bradshaw and Mark Malone despite having a sprained left foot that forced him to wear a specialized shoe. Though he limped considerably during the game, he was mobile enough to complete 24 of 34 passes for 228 yards while throwing two touchdowns to Hines Ward and one each to Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and David Johnson. "He's A-player," Tomlin said. "He's got to play in order for us to do well."

An unlikely hero emerged on the Steelers decimated offensive line. Seven days ago, Max Starks was wondering if he'd ever play in the NFL again. A week later, he was back in a familiar spot, giving Ben Roethlisberger time to do his what he does best. "He stepped up," Roethlisberger said after tying a career high with five touchdown passes. "We brought him to town this week and it's like 'OK, let's see how we're going to use him.'"

It turned out even more than Starks or the Steelers thought. A knee injury to center Maurkice Pouncey and a shoulder injury to tackle Marcus Gilbert turned Starks' part-time debut into full-time work. He played almost every snap in his first action since hurting his neck last November. Starks received the game ball from Steelers coach Mike Tomlin after the Pittsburgh rolled over the Tennessee Titans 38-17 on Sunday. That's not bad for a guy who hadn't played a game for almost a year.

The injury appeared to put his career in jeopardy. The team cut him after seven seasons before training camp to save money. Starks spent two months getting back into shape and waiting for a call. When it came from the 3-2 Steelers, he didn't let it go to waste. "Our biggest goal was to keep Roethlisberger upright," Starks said. "And we knew he'd perform if we did that."

"It's a good win for us," Tomlin said. "Hopefully it will provide momentum for us as we move forward." It's the kind of performance Tomlin was looking for after watching his team get rolled by Houston a week ago. A month into the season, the Steelers finally looked like the team that were  AFC champions a year ago. Even though the defense was missing James Harrison, Casey Hampton and Aaron Smith, they held Tennessee running back Chris Johnson to 51 yards on 14 carries and sacked QB Matt Hasselbeck three times.