Pittsburgh, PA (Sports Network) - Ben Roethlisberger completed 18 of 22
passes for 206 yards and a touchdown as an undermanned Pittsburgh Steelers
squad dominated time of possession and totally silenced the Seattle Seahawks
offense in a 21-0 win at Heinz Field.
Willie Parker carried 28 times for 102 yards and Najeh Davenport chipped in
with seven carries for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Roethlisberger was
remarkably efficient, completing his final 13 pass attempts.
Pittsburgh (4-1), which was without receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes
as well as defensive starters Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton, controlled the
ball for over 40 minutes and limited the Seattle offense to 144 yards. Cedrick
Wilson caught five passes for 69 yards and Heath Miller had four catches for
44 yards and a score.
"(Being 4-1) is a huge, huge deal," said Roethlisberger afterward. "4-1 feels
really good going into a week where we can get everybody back and healthy.
It's a good time for us to have a rest."
Matt Hasselbeck completed just 13 of 27 passes for 116 yards and threw an
interception in the end zone that cost Seattle its only true scoring
chance, while running back Shaun Alexander carried 11 times for just 25 yards.
The Seahawks (3-2) managed just seven first downs on the day, and didn't move
the chains in the second half until their final drive.
"Offensively we were not very good today," said Seahawks head coach Mike
Holmgren. "Give the Steelers credit for that. Our defense had to be on the
field too long, and when we had a chance to get off the field we couldn't.
The time of possession was ridiculous and typically when that happens you
don't do well."
Both defenses were stiff through the first, while both Hasselbeck and
Roethlisberger struggled to find their groove, and the game was scoreless well
into the second quarter.
Late in the second, Pittsburgh finally broke through when Davenport rattled
off a 45-yard run to set them up at the Seattle 20. Three plays later,
the Steelers lined up three receivers wide to the left, then sent Miller down
the right seam, where Roethlisberger hit him for a 13-yard touchdown in front
of a stumbling Marcus Trufant.
Seattle threatened on its final drive of the first half, as Hasselbeck
completed a 30-yard pass to Ben Obamanu and then hit Marcus Pollard for 22
yards. But on a second down from the Pittsburgh 14, Hasselbeck was intercepted
by Ike Taylor in the corner of the end zone, on an out route intended for
Obamanu, to end the half.
The Steelers then opened the second half with a drive that elapsed over ten
minutes, using 17 plays to go 80 yards before finally taking a 14-0 lead with
4:47 remaining in the third. Roethlisberger hit Wilson for gains of 15
and 11 yards, but Pittsburgh mostly used the smashmouth combination of
Davenport and Parker to move the ball.
Parker scampered around the left end for a 20-yard run that was originally
called a touchdown. He was ruled out of bounds at the one-yard line after a
review, and two tries later, Davenport pounded it home for the score.
Seattle went three-and-out on its next possession, and Pittsburgh went back to
its ball-control perfection. A drive that began with more than three minutes
to go in the third culminated in Davenport banging his way into the end zone
from five yards out with 10:11 left in the fourth. Parker carried six times on
the 85-yard drive, while Roethlisberger completed his only two pass attempts -
an 18-yarder to Wilson and a 17-yard catch-and-run by Davenport.