Ben Roethlisberer completed 23 of 34 passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns in the Steelers' 31-28 win over the Browns. Rick Stewart/Getty Images

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The touchdown run. If the Steelers do anything in January in The Year of the Patriots, people in Pittsburgh will remember that touchdown run as the thing that kicked it off. The situation: Cleveland had jumped out to a 21-6 first-half lead, but here came Roethlisberger, battling back to within 21-16 with 12 minutes left in the game.

He had a third-and-10 at the Browns' 30. "Cleveland was bracketing guys [receivers] downfield, not giving us any room,'' Ward said. The Browns were begging Roethlisberger, in obvious passing downs, to run or dump it short to his hot receiver. So now, from the shotgun, he looked, looked and looked and then heard Alan Faneca yell above the crowd: "YOU'RE GOOD! GO, GO, GO!''

In another football life, Roethlisberger would have been a middle linebacker. He's 6-foot-5, 246 pounds, with a cannon for an arm and a powerful torso. When he took off, he prayed he'd be able to get the first down.

"I kept thinking, When am I gonna slide?'' Roethlisberger said via cell phone last night. "I think their DBs thought I was gonna slide any second and so maybe they laid off a little, I don't know. But I never had to slide. Then, when I got close to the goal line, Hines made a block that freed me to score.''

Ward neutralized cornerback Leigh Bodden with a strong forearm shiver (that Hines is a beloved and gentle blocker), clearing the last piece of debris for Roethlisberger. "Here's this 250-pound guy behind me, huffing and puffing,'' Ward said. "You could see by his determination no one was stopping him. That's something I loved to see in Ben.''

Touchdown. Steelers, 24-21.

Ensuing kickoff. Joshua (Devin Hester Jr.) Cribbs bobbled a squib kick and had to retrieve it at the goal line. He ran up the sideline, millimeters from the out-of -bounds line. No one stopped him. Touchdown. Browns, 28-24.

Ensuing drive. Third-and-6 from the Steelers 26. Roethlisberger up the left sideline to Santonio Holmes for 15. First down. Third-and-18 after a sack, Browns 33. Roethlisberger to Heath Miller for 20. Third-and-nine, Cleveland 12. Another Big Ben scramble, this time for 10 yards. First down. Now, a two-yard TD flip to Miller. Steelers, 31-28.

"It takes plays like those to take your game to the next level, and that's what Ben did today,'' Ward said.

Maybe it all came too fast for Roethlisberger. After his starry first two years and a Super Bowl title at 23, maybe it was meant to be easy. Then came the motorcycle accident in June 2006, and when he recovered from that, the appendicitis that kept him out of the Steelers-Dolphins opener last year. His accuracy plummeted seven percent from his rookie year to 2006, and his interceptions rose from 11 to 23.

I thought Roethlisberger was frosty this summer when I questioned him about his poor play last year, but he made no excuses, saying only he was sure he'd play better this year because, "Naysayers,'' he said. "I thrive on them. If it's my fault, I'll take the responsibility, and I didn't play well last year. But I'm devoting more time than anyone knows to getting back to being a great player.''

It shows: 66 percent passing, 22 touchdowns, seven interceptions. Only Tom Brady has better accuracy and a better TD-to-pick differential. Roethlisberger has formed a bond with Tomlin he never had with Cowher, and he's out to prove something to his teammates.

"I want the guys to know I'll never quit on them,'' he said. After that run Sunday, Ward knows. They all know.

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