Steelers set the tone early
PITTSBURGH – The Steelers wanted to make a statement to the New York Jets early in Sunday night’s AFC championship game.
They did it with a bruising, battering running game that churned out 135 of its 166 rushing yards in the first half. It was no coincidence that Pittsburgh went to the locker room on the right side of a 24-3 score.
“We wanted to set the tone and play physical football,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “We had some adversity early when Maurkice went down with an injury, but Doug Legursky came in and played a heck of a game for us.”
Pouncey, the Steelers prized rookie who made the Pro Bowl at center, went out a play before the Steelers took a 7-0 lead on Rashard Mendenhall’s 1-yard run. He suffered an ankle injury and did not return.
But the tone already had been set and the Steelers’ running game didn’t miss a beat.
“We knew we had to go in and attack them,” said tackle Flozell Adams. “People haven’t attacked them like we did. We attacked them with the running game.”
“We had to come out and take charge,” guard Chris Kemoeatu added. “We stumbled a little bit in the second half, but we’ve always prided ourselves in being able to run the ball. We play as a unit and that became evident when Pouncey went out. Legursky came in and we didn’t miss a beat.
“For him to step in for us like that was huge. That’s what we’re all about, helping each other out.”
The Steelers did it well enough for Mendenhall to run for 121 yards and earn the game’s MVP award.
In their prior meeting the Sunday before Christmas, the Jets had run for over 100 yards against a Steelers defense that prides itself in stopping the run perhaps more than the offense prides itself in being able to run it at will.
Not that one has anything to do with the other, but it sets a mindset in the locker room and that carries over onto the field on many occasions. That’s one of the reasons linebacker James Farrior took the time to praise the work put in by Legursky, an offensive lineman who had played at least three different positions along the line this season.
“Coach (Mike) Tomlin always talks about the standard being the standard,” Farrior said. “It doesn’t matter who it is, when someone goes down, the next guy has to step up. We don’t just say it anymore, we believe it.”
Linebacker LaMarr Woodley also offered praise for the running game and the guys who made it work.
“When you’re running the ball that good, you’re managing the clock,” Woodley said. “When you manage the clock, usually your defense isn’t out there and their defense is starting to get tired and that’s what happened in the first half. We did a good job of running the ball and they did a good job of keeping us off the field.”
Indeed, the Steelers managed to hold onto the ball for 21:04 of the first half’s 30 minutes and took it a step further by keeping it for 31:29 of the 45 minutes available through three quarters.
Now that’s setting a tone.
Sports editor Mike Ciarochi may be reached at mciarochi@heraldstandard.com.