Steelers put aside troubles, fines to start 6-2

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger is playing with the erraticism of a quarterback who's missed half the season. No lead is truly safe in the fourth quarter, just like last season. Two games were decided in the final few seconds, another in overtime.

The Pittsburgh Steelers can't seem to do it the easy way, can't seem to stay out of trouble. One minute they're scary good, the next they're scaring their fans by threatening to give away a 20-point lead in less than a quarter's time.

Roethlisberger was summoned to Commissioner Roger Goodell's office during the offseason for his misbehavior. James Harrison, the NFL leader in fines, was ordered there last week for all of his dangerous hits. Star safety Troy Polamalu is railing against the league's punishment system and suggests Goodell's powers need to be usurped.

Somehow, despite enough disruptions and fourth-quarter failures to derail even the most experienced and accomplished of teams, the Steelers keep chugging along. A franchise that has averaged nearly 11 regular-season victories per season since Roethlisberger arrived in 2004 keeps doing what it always seems to do.

The Steelers arrived at midseason with the same 6-2 record they've had during each of coach Mike Tomlin's four seasons, and five of the last six seasons. They also possess the confident air of a team that cares nothing about style points as long as they're atop the standings, and a Super Bowl run remains possible.

"We're far from perfect, but we're 6-2," Tomlin said.

A season that began with nervous uncertainty due to Roethlisberger's four-game suspension is settling into a familiar scenario. The Steelers, as usual, are among a handful of AFC teams that believe they can play into February.

"We find ways to win games," Roethlisberger said. "That's what makes this team special in all phases. When one fails, another picks them up. I'm really proud of the way guys have played, and we proved that we can win close games when it counts. We've got a long way to go, but we know that."

Of course, they also felt this way last season, when their 6-2 start was quickly followed by a season-destroying five-game losing streak. Of their seven losses, five came after they led in the fourth quarter.

They've lost once that way this season, falling to Baltimore 17-14 on Oct. 3 after leading in the final minute. They nearly let it happen again Monday when, despite leading 27-7, they probably would have lost to the Bengals if Carson Palmer had connected with an open Terrell Owens in the end zone during a frantic drive that ended at the Pittsburgh 12 with 34 seconds remaining.