Steelers Will Only Go as Far as They Let Ben Roethlisberger Carry Them

Ben Roethlisberger didn't just turn back the clock against the Indianapolis Colts—he smashed it.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback has occasionally shown his age over the past few seasons. In 2014, volatile chemistry with his young weapons has produced flashes of brilliance amid long stretches of darkness. Yet, he seems to be rounding into the best form of his career. NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala shared Brett Kiesel's thoughts on Roethlisberger's performance:

The Steelers got caught up in a wild shootout with the Colts, where running up a 42-20 third-quarter lead wasn't enough to salt the game away. Roethlisberger kept finding the ammo to keep the air assault going. When the smoked lifted, he'd completed a mind-boggling 81.6 percent of his 49 pass attempts for a whopping 10.7 average yards per attempt, six touchdowns and no interceptions. 

Per AFC director of football communications Jon Zimmer on Twitter, Roethlisberger is the founding member of the multi-500-yard-game club.

Nine Steelers caught passes from Roethlisberger, per NFL.com.

Five had at least five receptions. Four caught at least one touchdown pass.

Receiver Antonio Brown bolstered his All-Pro candidacy with 10 catches, 133 yards and two scores. Rookie wideout Martavis Bryant followed up his big Week 7 debut with another splashy game: five catches for 83 yards and two more touchdowns.

Just six days after the Pittsburgh Steelers won an entire football game with just three minutes of electrifying play, the question hung in the air: What if the Steelers' old-timers and greenhorns could play together like that for a quarter? A half? A whole game?

The Steelers didn't beat the Colts 456-0, but for a second straight week, they looked like they could score at will against a defense that had been playing well. It's no coincidence that for the second straight week, offensive coordinator Todd Haley had put all his eggs in the Big Ben basket:

The popular image of Steelers Football™ is of a team that runs and stops the run. Since ranking third in rushing yardage in head coach Mike Tomlin's first season, though, they've averaged just 20th in the six seasons since, per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

That trend has gotten notably worse in recent years. The 2,920 yards the Steelers compiled in 2012 and 2013 combined barely tops the 2,464 they ran for in Roethlisberger's rookie season. Despite the breakout season of sophomore tailback Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers can't pretend they're a run-first team.

Why not? Blame a defense that can't protect a 22-point third-quarter lead.

Coming into the Colts game, the Steelers were allowing a 16th-best average of 23.1 points per game, per Pro-Football-Reference.com—but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The defense blew big leads against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4. The Steelers were blown out in the Browns rematch and by the Baltimore Ravens. Even after the 24-points-in-three-minutes explosion against the Houston Texans, the Texans still clawed back into the game, ultimately lining up for an onside kick with a minute-and-a-half left on the clock.

The AFC title race is loaded with explosive offenses.

The Colts and Denver Broncos sat atop the league in per-game scoring coming into the week, and the Ravens and San Diego Chargers were in the top 10. With the Cincinnati Bengals getting back on track against the Ravens in Week 8, and star wideout A.J. Green on the mend, per Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer, they'll be tough to slow down—and the Steelers still have to play them twice.

If the Steelers are going to keep pace, they're going to have to keep the aerial attack flying.

Don Wright/Associated Press

Even if this defense were as suffocating as the great Steelers units of old, there are just too many explosive receiving weapons for Haley to keep grounded. Brown, Bryant, tight end Heath Miller and suddenly forgotten receiver Markus Wheaton (who still had five catches for 56 yards and a score against the Colts) are a matchup nightmare for nearly any secondary.

Bell is a dangerous receiving weapon, too; coming into the Colts game, he was second to Chicago Bears tailback Matt Forte in targets, receptions and receiving yards among all running backs in 2014, per Pro-Football-Reference.com.

When Haley gives Roethlisberger the controls and he sets all guns blazing, the Steelers are simply much tougher to beat. Even though bizarre, inexplicable plays such as Roethlisberger's blocked punt seem to come along for the ride, it's more than worth it to keep defenses on their heels and the scoreboard rolling.

Do the Steelers want to finish 8-8 for the third consecutive season or make a deep playoff run? Their only hope for the latter is to put the whole offense in Roethlisberger's hands and go as far as he can throw them.