wish: replacement Tyrone Carter took one to the house and Clark got to
fly home with his teammates this time.
Carter started in place of Clark as a
precaution Monday night and made the big play that sparked the Steelers
to their fifth straight win, taking the first of his two interceptions
48 yards for a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 28-10 win over the Denver
Broncos.
Clark nearly died following a game in
Denver two years ago because of a rare blood disorder that is
aggravated by playing in high altitude, so Steelers coach Mike Tomlin
decided to hold him out of the game.
He said he didn't want to risk Clark's health or burden his teammates and family members with worry.
"Ryan likes to play. He's probably hacked off at me that I didn't play him," Tomlin said. "But he will get over it."
He already is, apparently.
"My goal for this trip was to go back
with the team on the plane," Clark said. "Last time I came out, I
didn't make it back with them."
Clark was hospitalized in Denver in
October 2007 when complications from sickle-cell trait prevented oxygen
from flowing into his spleen. He later needed operations to remove his
spleen and gall bladder, and he lost more than 30 pounds before he
finally began feeling better more than two months later.
He missed the second half of that
season, but recovered and resumed his career last season, when the
Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Carter capped his night with his
second interception with 15 seconds left, and Clark, dressed in
charcoal sweats and a smile on the sideline, jumped up and down in
celebration, then clicked the heels of his tennis shoes as he exited
the field.
"I was excited for him," Clark said.
"It was a big win. He did an awesome job. His first interception really
put us in the game."
"I might be like Wally Pipp," he added with a chuckle. "I'd better get back fast."
Hines Ward caught two short
touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, including one in which he
hauled in a pass in the flat and hurdled cornerback Champ Bailey on his
way into the end zone, a final indignity for Denver that capped the
scoring with 1:22 remaining and emptied the stadium.
Rashard Mendenhall rumbled over the
Broncos for 155 yards on 22 carries as the Steelers (6-2) handed Denver
its second straight loss after the Broncos opened the season 6-0 under
rookie coach Josh McDaniels.
Carter's first interception return
gave Pittsburgh a 7-3 halftime lead even though the Steelers had
generated just three first downs and were outgained 183-54 in the first
half.
An ecstatic Clark was among the
first players to swarm Carter, the first defender to pick off a Kyle
Orton pass all season. His only interception before throwing three
Monday night was a Hail Mary that Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss
pulled down in a game last month.
"I'll tell you, Ryan is like a
brother to me. We've been in this thing together for a long time,"
Carter said. "The bond is so tight between all of us. But to know that
he can't play today and knowing that he wanted to be out there, I just
wanted to make sure that I went out there and played for him, and let
him know I'm there for him, that we were still going to be all right."
With the Steelers clinging to a
14-10 lead in the fourth quarter, safety Troy Polamalu snared another
Orton pass, this one at the Broncos 25-yard line, leading to
Roethlisberger's 25-yard TD toss to rookie Mike Wallace.
Denver scored on its opening drive
for the first time this season. But the Broncos had to settle for Matt
Prater's 40-yard field goal after cornerback William Gay broke up a
pass at the 10 to Eddie Royal, who had three receptions for 47 yards on
the 56-yard drive.
The Broncos defense retaliated for
Carter's pick-six on the opening drive of the second half when Kenny
Peterson swooped in and punctuated his first sack of the season by
punching the ball out of Roethlisberger's hands. Rookie linebacker
Robert Ayers scooped it up and rumbled 54 yards for a touchdown that
gave Denver a 10-7 lead.
It didn't last long.
Roethlisberger, who was 21 for 29
for 233 yards, drove the Steelers 80 yards in four plays, hitting Ward
with a 3-yard strike over the outstretched right arm of linebacker D.J.
Williams to put Pittsburgh ahead for good, 14-10.
Roethlisberger drove the Steelers to
the Denver 15 on the Steelers' next possession, but he threw behind
Ward in the end zone and cornerback Andre' Goodman picked it off — Big
Ben's first red-zone interception since 2007.
The Steelers dominated the second
half by going no-huddle with three-wide receiver sets, which kept Elvis
Dumervil, the NFL co-leader with 10 1/2 sacks, on the sideline much of
the time.
"We didn't stop anybody once they started going no-huddle," McDaniels said.
Clark was one of three Steelers
defensive starters sitting out, joining defensive end Travis Kirschke
(calf) and linebacker Lawrence Timmons (ankle). It hardly mattered as
Denver managed just 59 yards on six second-half drives.
As Denver self-destructed in the
second half for the second straight week, Invesco Field became a sea of
yellow Terrible Towels and thousands of empty blue seats, orange
giveaway pom-pons littering the aisles.
Notes
Orton was 7 for 17 for 58
yards after halftime after going 16 for 21 for 163 yards in the first
half. … 35-year-old CB Ty Law made his debut for Denver two days
after signing with the Broncos.