With 15 days to go until his team plays a meaningful game, Ben Roethlisberger already was in regular-season mode.
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback sunk a knife into the Buffalo Bills on Saturday night with a two-minute drill for the (preseason) ages.
Starting on Pittsburgh's 2-yard line with just 1:46 remaining in the first half, Big Ben marched the Steelers on an 11-play, 98-yard drive in 1:33, capped by a 6-yard touchdown strike to Antonio Brown. Roethlisberger was 7-for-8 passing for 92 yards on a frantic run in which Bills coach Chan Gailey seemed to age seven years.
Roethlisberger's touchdown toss gave Pittsburgh a seven-point lead at halftime, and they eventually won 38-7.
"Well, I called the plays, and I can see what's going on defense," Roethlisberger told NFL.com and NFL Network's Kimberly Jones at halftime. "Guys made great plays. We had a running back make a catch on the sideline like a receiver. We utilized the middle of the field, guys got out of bounds and it saved us time. We only had one timeout, and we didn't have to use it until we got all the way down. So I think it was a pretty successful drive for us."
We've been beaten to near-death with cautionary words about offensive coordinator Todd Haley's run-heavy attack. When it mattered Saturday night, the Steelers' offense became Big Ben's playground. And that's really when this team shines.
Changing of the guard in the AFC North? Stand down.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
