Oct 22, 2012 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – It had been a little more than a year since Ben Roethlisberger had led the Steelers on a game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. Yet when Roethlisberger stepped into the huddle with 6:33 remaining in the game Sunday and the Steelers trailing 14-13, his teammates’ faith in the quarterback’s ability to lead them to a game-winning score was never in doubt.”I could tell by how everyone was looking in the huddle,” said Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey. “All the offensive linemen had that look on their faces. And our star quarterback is looking at everybody and saying, ‘Let’s go.’ He went out there and did it like he always does.”Or, at least before Pittsburgh’s 16-14 win over Philadelphia, like he used to do.Twice before this season, Roethlisberger had the football in his hands with the Steelers trailing in the fourth quarter and failed to come up with a winning score. This game-winning drive – the 28th of Roethlisberger’s career – was his first since bringing the Steelers back in a 23-20 victory at Indianapolis last September against a team quarterbacked by Curtis Painter. That’s a long time between fantastic finishes for a quarterback who had become the first in league history to lead 20 such comebacks before age 30.Some might have begun to question Roethlisberger’s comeback ability. None of those people are in Pittsburgh’s locker room.”I think all of the guys who you can make an argument for being franchise quarterbacks, I think that’s the common tie that binds them,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said. “They come in many different forms, shapes, sizes and skill sets. Some are pocket passers. Some are mobile. But, the reality is, if they’re in that discussion, it’s because they deliver when it’s time to deliver. I don’t care who you’re talking to, (Roethlisberger) is in that discussion.”Perhaps Roethlisberger’s best attribute in those situations is a complete and utter fear of failure. He stepped onto the field Sunday knowing that he had already failed in a late-game situation twice this season. He wasn’t going to go 0 for 3.”I pride myself, and we pride ourselves, on offense, no matter what the situation is – up, down, tied. We want to go down and win the game,” said Roethlisberger. “We had the ball in our hands. We had a couple of third downs, which we converted. Those are big.”I always have confidence that we can do it. But, sometimes, younger guys, unless you’ve been here to do it, maybe you’re not sure it gets done as often as we talk about it.”If the younger players had any doubts, they should have been erased Sunday.There was Roethlisberger, facing a third-and-12 from his own 18, stepping up in the pocket and connecting with Antonio Brown for a 20-yard gain to get the Steelers out of a hole.Later, on third-and-4 from the Philadelphia 38, he found Emmanuel Sanders for a seven-yard gain to move the Steelers into field goal range.It certainly helped matters that Roethlisberger had something he didn’t have in his fourth-quarter failures this season, – a running game.Rashard Mendenhall’s return from a torn knee ligament jolted Pittsburgh’s previously stagnant running game to life. Mendenhall produced 81 yards on only 14 carries. The Steelers rushed for 131 yards – double their season average.And on the game-winning possession, they ran the ball for 29 yards during the 64-yard drive. Mendenhall also turned a pass to the flat into a 15-yard gain.But it was Roethlisberger completing those two huge third-down passes that kept things moving.”He’s just a great quarterback,” said Brown. “We have all the trust in the world in him to get things done in those situations.”F. Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com