Dec 13, 2004 By Mike Ciarochi 5 min read

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers did just what they’ve been doing all season long in Sunday’s 17-6 win over the New York Jets. This time, though, they threw in another wrinkle for defenses to decipher. It was Pittsburgh’s 11th consecutive win in a 12-1 season. It also was quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s 11th straight win that extended his league record for consecutive wins to start a career.

Pittsburgh also clinched the AFC North Division title and a playoff berth. It was the Steelers third division title in four seasons and assured them of at least one home playoff game.

But it was anything but easy.

“It was a really hard-fought game,” Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. “We were very fortunate to get a win.”

The game was tied, 3-3, going into the final quarter and that’s when the Steelers started doing what they’ve been able to do all season. They made plays to win the game.

“They made a play,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “That’s what good teams, championship teams do. They make plays in the fourth quarter when the game is tight. They were able to make plays and we were not.”

Jerome Bettis threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in the fourth quarter and the defense shut down New York’s offense when it mattered most. The Steelers intercepted three Chad Pennington passes.

Bettis’ halfback pass to tight end Jerame Tuman was a new wrinkle on a season-long play. Tackle Max Starks reported as an eligible receiver when the Steelers faced a third-and-3 at the Jets’ 10-yard line.

“With that formation, with Max in there, we always run,” Bettis said. “This time, we went against the tendency.”

The Jets bit and had 10 of 11 defenders looking for Bettis to run. Instead, he ran along the line of scrimmage and lofted a perfect pass to Tuman, who had gotten behind the lone defender paying any attention to him.

“I just tried to get it up over the defender,” Bettis said.

“We knew we were going to do it in that situation,” Steelers coach Bill Cowher said. “That time, that part of the field, it was all there. And Jerome has thrown a few of them.”

Roethlisberger said after the game that the play failed in practice for the strangest of reasons.

“We ran that play in practice and he came up five yards short,” Roethlisberger said of Bettis’ practice throw. “When they sent the play in, I looked at my wristband and I wondered if they called the wrong play.”

Standing at the interview room door was Bettis.

“Ben told the truth,” Bettis said minutes later when he took the seat at the microphone. “It was a horrible pass in practice. Then, on Saturday, the coach ran the play with Duce (Staley) in there and I told him, that’s just not right.”

It might have been Staley in there throwing the pass, but he tweaked his hamstring injury on a screen pass earlier in the same drive.

Troy Polamalu’s fifth interception of the season set up the Steelers’ first score. He stepped in front of a Pennington pass to Santana Moss and returned it 22 yards to the Jets’ 38-yard line. Staley ran three times for 14 yards and Roethlisberger passed to Dan Kreider for 8.

Roethlisberger’s third-down pass to Lee Mays in the end zone fell incomplete and Jeff Reed connected on a 34-yard field goal with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter.

New York was its own worst enemy in the first half. The Jets committed 12 penalties for 84 yards, yet Pittsburgh led by only a field goal, 3-0, at the half.

Midway through the third quarter, Pennington passed to Justin McCareins for 43 yards to the Pittsburgh 29-yard line. The play was challenged by Pittsburgh and upheld. Doug Brien booted a 43-yard field goal to tie the score, 3-3, with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter. The drive covered 71 yards in 9 plays.

Bettis threw his touchdown pass to Tuman with 12:51 remaining in the game to lift Pittsburgh to a 10-3 lead. The play capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive. The drive started with a 26-yard Roethlisberger pass to Hines Ward and included a 21-yard screen pass to Staley. Bettis came in and ran three times for 21 yards before his scoring pass.

The touchdown was Bettis’ third. He passed to Tuman for a 32-yard score on Oct. 21, 2001, and to Ward for a 21-yard score on Dec. 12, 1999.

The Jets came right back with a 57-yard, 14-play drive, but had to settle for Brien’s 41-yard field goal, which made it 10-6 with 6:16 remaining.

On their next possession, the Steelers got a first down they needed and much more when Roethlisberger passed to Lee Mays for 46 yards to the New York 17-yard line.

“It was an in-and-up move,” Mays said. “Buckley bit on the pump from Ben. After that, it was just a matter of catching the ball.”

“They bit on the slant,” Roethlisberger said. “Lee ran a great slant on that play and Terrell Buckley really bit on it. He’s an aggressive player and we played off of that.”

Bettis ran it to the 12-yard line and, on third-and-5, Bettis got outside for a 12-yard touchdown run to ice the game with three minutes remaining. The touchdown capped a 6-play, 69-yard drive and put Pittsburgh ahead, 17-6.

His touchdown run, he said, was an added benefit of having thrown the pass on the previous series. It came on a play after the referee announced that Starks was playing an eligible position.

“We used the run off of the pass,” he said. “They played it a little looser than they had before because of the pass play we had run.”

Now, any defense preparing for the Steelers will have to prepare for both the run and the pass.

It also was Bettis’ 12th rushing TD of the season, setting a career high. He ran for 11 scores in 1996.

Safety Chris Hope ended any hope of a Jets comeback with an interception on New York’s next possession.