On this Flashback Thursday, were going to go all the way back to last year and look at the six touchdowns that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw at home in the team’s Week 8 win over the Indianapolis Colts. Not only did Roethlisberger throw six touchdown passes in the game, he threw for career-high 522 yards and that was the second time he exceeded 500 passing yards in a game.
Roethlisberger’s first touchdown pass in the game came with 7:13 left in the first quarter and it was an 18-yard scoring toss to wide receiver Markus Wheaton, who ran an out and up and the Colts cover-3 zone defense. Roethlisberger’s quick pump fake certainly helped freeze the coverage.
Roethlisberger’s second touchdown pass happened with 14:57 left in the second quarter and it was a simple 5-yard pitch and catch to wide receiver Martavis Bryant on an angle route. The inside route run by Heath Miller on the play really helped wall off the inside linebacker and free safety in the middle field
I’m sure all of you remember Roethlisberger’s third touchdown pass in that game as it included a great catch by wide receiver Antonio Brown in the corner of the end zone. Just a simple timing route right here to the pylon. That touxchdown pass, by the way, came from 8 yards out with 8:33 left in the second quarter.
Touchdown No. 4 was vintage Roethlisberger, or as most of us like to say, Ben being Ben. The Steelers quarterback takes a deep drop after play action and then sidesteps the rush in order to give Brown time to work himself open in the middle of the field. Brown, as usual, does the rest and it results in a 47-yard scoring play with 5:08 left in the first half.
Touchdown pass No. 5 for Roethlisberger in that game was almost a carbon copy of his second scoring throw, only this time it went to Bryant from 2 yards out and out of a slightly different formation. Bryant makes a great grab on the play for his second touchdown reception of the game. That score came with 9:59 left in the third quarter.
Roethlisberger’s sixth and final touchdown pass in that game came with 5:14 left in the fourth quarter and it went to Miller from 11 yards out. On that play, Roethlisberger’s first read is running back LeGarrette Blount out of the backfield. With Blount covered, Roethlisberger finds a wide open Miller on the backside of the play after he had worked himself free off of the line of scrimmage.
What an amazing performance that was.
