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Big Ben rallies Steelers over Jags

Football Betting Lines

10/06/2008 - Jacksonville, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Roethlisberger racked up 309 yards passing, including the go-ahead eight-yard scoring strike to Hines Ward with 1:53 left in the fourth quarter, leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to a 26-21 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Roethlisberger completed 26-of-41 passes, had three touchdown tosses and was picked off once. Mewelde Moore rushed 17 times for 99 yards for the Steelers (4-1), who snapped a four-game skid against the Jaguars, most notably getting revenge for last season. That included two losses to the Jaguars, one in the first round of the playoffs.

"I knew he (Moore) would be able to come in and be just fine," said Roethlisberger. "We all had confidence in him that he could get it done and he showed it tonight. It was fun to see and watch him work."

Nate Washington hauled in six balls for 94 yards and a score while Ward had seven receptions for 90 yards to move past 9,000 for his career. Heath Miller also had a touchdown catch.

David Garrard tallied 200 yards and a TD on 18-of-32 passing for the Jags (2-3), who were coming off a 30-27 overtime win over the Texans last week. Maurice Jones-Drew had a rushing touchdown and Marcedes Lewis had reception for a score in defeat. Mike Walker led all receivers with six catches for 107 yards. Fred Taylor had 19 rushing yards, which leaves him 53 shy of 11,000 for his career.

The Jaguars embarked on a drive that bridged the final two quarters and gave the team the lead for the first time since the opening quarter.

Garrard and Co. took over at their own 24 and Walker caught a nine-yard pass to begin the drive. After a short run by Taylor, Walker caught a 32-yard pass to move the team into Pittsburgh territory. The trek concluded as Garrard hit Lewis on a 24-yard TD strike with 14:05 left to make it 21-20 in favor of the Jags.

Both teams punted on their next possession and the Steelers eventually took over on their own 20. Pittsburgh made its way down the field thanks to a 27- yard run by Moore and a great play from Roethlisberger, in which he seemed wrapped up but still found a way to get Ward the ball for an 18-yard gain on 3rd-and-8 to move the chains to the Jacksonville 13.

Roethlisberger then hit Ward on a fade route to the right corner of the end zone with 1:53 left in the game. Up 26-21, the team went for the two-point conversion but Roethlisberger's pass went just out of the reach of Miller.

"It was great," said Roethlisberger. "You have to give a lot of credit to those guys - up front, the tight ends, receivers, everybody. We ran the no huddle without even using the count and without me even talking."

Jacksonville took over at its own 26 and quickly found itself facing a 4th- and-9. Garrard hit Matt Jones for a 10-yard gain and new set of downs. The Jags, though, were unable to get another first down and the Steelers took over and ran out the clock.

"We played hard, tough but one of the biggest differences is they did a good job of clogging things up," Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio said. "We weren't able to do that and their quarterback was outstanding at the end."

On the opening drive of the game and facing a 3rd-and-18 from the Jacksonville 44, Roethlisberger threw a pass for Santonio Holmes. Rashean Mathis, though, stepped in front of it and returned the ball 72 yards to the end zone just over two minutes into the contest.

Roethlisberger responded by leading the Steelers on a 12-play, 71-yard drive that culminated with a one-yard TD reception by Miller with 5:18 left in the first.

With the Jags on the Steelers 40, Garrard went deep down the middle of the field for Jones. The pass was incomplete, but Ike Taylor was called for pass interference which gave Jacksonville 1st-and-goal from the one-yard-line.

Jones-Drew punched it across the goal line on the next play. The seven-play, 74-yard drive gave the Jaguars a 14-7 lead with just under 2 1/2 minutes left in the first.

Jeff Reed's 38-yard field goal brought Pittsburgh within 14-10 with 12:38 left before the intermission.

The Steelers held the Jags to a three-and-out before Roethlisberger gave his team a 17-14 lead as he hit a wide-open Washington on a 48-yard TD bomb down the left sideline with 9:20 on the clock.

Pittsburgh again forced a punt and drove 66 yards before the drive stalled at Jacksonville's five-yard-line. Reed then hit a 23-yard field goal to give the Steelers a 20-14 lead, which would hold up until the break and through the third stanza.

Game Notes

Mathis' interception runback was the second-longest in Jaguars history. Mathis now has six interceptions in his last five games against Pittsburgh including the playoffs and his team is 13-7 when Mathis has a pick...The Jags lead the overall regular season series, 11-9...The Steelers won despite being without the services of running backs Willie Parker (knee) and Rashard Mendenhall (shoulder), guard Kendall Simmons (Achilles' tendon) and defensive linemen Casey Hampton (groin) and Brett Keisel (calf)...The Jaguars were without two starters in the secondary, as cornerback Drayton Florence (groin) and Reggie Nelson (knee) did not play.