In Week of Bad Performances, Roethlisberger Offers the Worst

If any doubt remained that the 2006 Pittsburgh Steelers would fail to follow in the footsteps of last year's Super Bowl champions, yesterday's loss to the Baltimore Ravens erased it. The Steelers lost an ugly 27–0 game on a day that playoff hopefuls in Jacksonville, Carolina, and Atlanta also suffered defeats that could cripple their postseason chances.

Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had another terrible game, completing 21 of 41 passes for just 214 yards, with two interceptions and two fumbles. Roethlisberger has now thrown 19 interceptions this season, 10 more than he threw all of last year. With the 4–7 Steelers out of playoff contention, the coaching staff's top priority for the rest of the year should be helping Roethlisberger regain his confidence, which looks shot. Whether it was his much publicized off-season motorcycle accident, his preseason appendectomy, or the concussion he suffered last month, something has turned Roethlisberger from one of the league's brightest young stars to a mistake-prone player who costs his team games.

That's not to say Roethlisberger has been Pittsburgh's only problem. The Steelers' cornerbacks have struggled all season. Yesterday Baltimore quarterback Steve McNair repeatedly picked on Pittsburgh cornerback Bryant McFadden, who was in the lineup because Steelers head coach Bill Cowher benched the error-prone cornerback Ike Taylor. McFadden gave up several completions and was flagged for a pass interference penalty that extended a Baltimore drive and gave the Ravens a field goal just before halftime. The Steelers' secondary might have suffered its worst blow of the season in the second half when safety Troy Polamalu sustained a knee injury that Cowher called "significant."

McNair finished the game 18-of-24 for 140 yards, with a touchdown and no interceptions. McNair is a smart player who can read the blitz schemes of opposing defenses, and although Pittsburgh tried to pressure him, he made it through the game without being sacked. It's been that kind of season for McNair, who has played efficiently and avoided mistakes, doing just enough for the stellar Baltimore defense to win the game. Yesterday that defense did more than enough, menacing Roethlisberger with nine sacks and holding Pittsburgh running back Willie Parker to 22 yards on 10 carries.

By improving to 9–2, the Ravens have all but locked up the AFC North, although the Cincinnati Bengals stayed in the race with a 30–0 win over the Cleveland Browns yesterday. Chad Johnson caught seven passes for 123 yards, and after a slow start, he has made a strong case the last three weeks that he's the best receiver in football. The Bengals already knew Johnson could play, though. The revelation for Cincinnati was that its previously incompetent defense finally played like a playoff contender should, holding Cleveland scoreless and recording four interceptions, four sacks, and two forced fumbles.

Cincinnati's playoff hopes brightened when Rian Lindell kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Buffalo Bills a 27–24 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars, perhaps the most inconsistent team in the league, dropped to 6–5 with the loss, making them one of three 6–5 teams in the AFC, along with the Bengals and Jets. Those three teams will spend the final five weeks of the season trying to catch up with two 7–4 teams, the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos, in the AFC wild card race. The wild card is the only interesting part of the rest of the AFC season, as the Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, and New England Patriots all have nearly insurmountable leads in their respective divisions. The Patriots' 17–13 win over the Chicago Bears was yesterday's most anticipated game, and it demonstrated that while the Bears are the best team in the NFC, the AFC is the superior conference.

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As bad as Roethlisberger was for Pittsburgh yesterday, he at least has the excuse that he was playing against Baltimore, one of the league's best defenses. Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme had a bad game against the Washington Redskins, one of the league's worst defenses, in Carolina's 17–13 loss.

Heading into yesterday's game, the Redskins had allowed opposing quarterbacks to gain an average of 7.9 yards a pass, and they had intercepted only three passes all season. Delhomme averaged just 4.4 yards a pass yesterday and threw two interceptions. Delhomme deserves most of the blame for a very bad performance that dropped the Panthers to 6–5, but his offensive line didn't give him much help. Although the Redskins only sacked Delhomme once, they hurried his passes all day, including on a game-clinching interception with less than a minute to play.

Washington quarterback Jason Campbell, making just the second start of his career, showed his inexperience, often struggling to find open receivers. But when the Redskins really needed him to perform, he delivered. After Washington fell behind 13–10 late in the fourth quarter, Campbell threw a beautiful pass to tight end Chris Cooley, who ran untouched into the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown. It's too late for the Redskins to become contenders in the NFC East this year, but if Campbell emerges as a good young quarterback, they should be contenders next year and beyond.

The loss drops Carolina into second place in the NFC South, one game behind the New Orleans Saints, who beat the Atlanta Falcons 31–13 yesterday. Saints quarterback Drew Brees is on the kind of roll that few quarterbacks ever achieve. After going 21-of-30 for 349 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions yesterday, Brees now has more than 300 yards in five straight games. Despite playing with a receiving corps that consists of Joe Horn and a bunch of guys most fans had never heard of three months ago (Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Terrance Copper), Brees is on pace to finish the season with 5,037 passing yards. Dan Marino's NFL record is 5,084.

Atlanta's Michael Vick is also doing things few quarterbacks ever achieve, but he's not doing enough to lead Atlanta to the playoffs. Yesterday, Vick's running was phenomenal (12 rushes for 166 yards), but his passing was abysmal (9-of-24 for 84 yards). Four weeks ago the Falcons were 5–2 and looking like Super Bowl contenders. Now they're 5–6 and almost certainly out of the playoff race.

But even at 5–6, the Falcons' record is one game better than the Steelers'. As disappointing as the passing performances of Vick and Delhomme were yesterday, Roethlisberger and the Steelers have had the NFL's most disappointing season.

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com.