By ERIC KNOPSNYDER
The Tribune-Democrat
PITTSBURGH
September 08, 2006 12:39 am
—
The Pittsburgh Steelers started the 2006 NFL season in much the same way that they finished last season.
A sluggish start, combined with some big plays by Willie Parker and a few key officiating decisions gave the Steelers a 28-17 win over Miami on Thursday night.
From the pregame festivities, which linked the four Super Bowl championships of the 1970s with the one that the Steelers earned last season, to a fourth-quarter comeback, Pittsburgh fans ate up every bit of Steelers action.
The Steelers took to the natural turf at Heinz Field for the first time in more than eight months on Thursday, at least in a game that counted. And they were back on center stage in the NFL, a position they held a little more than seven months ago, when they beat Seattle 21-10 in a controversial Super Bowl XL.
As defending champions, the Steelers earned the right to open the NFL season, a practice the league instituted three years ago. Denver, the team that Pittsburgh defeated in the AFC championship game, was approached about playing in the game, but when the Broncos balked at the opening game, the Dolphins jumped at the chance.
The game, which pitted the NFL’s two winningest franchises since the NFL merger in 1970, provided little to spark the sellout crowd of 64,927 early in the game.
But that didn’t stop the black-and-gold faithful from cranking up the decibel level.
The atmosphere was so electric that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who was sitting out the game after an emergency appendectomy, could be seen on the sideline trying to calm down fans as Charlie Batch and the Steelers offense took the field for the first time.
Coach Bill Cowher’s squad, which showed such resiliency in reeling off eight consecutive victories to reach the NFL summit last season, displayed much of the same toughness.
After falling behind 17-14, Batch led the Steelers down the field toward the game-tying or possibly game-winning score.
But in situation eerily similar to Jerome Bettis’ fumble on the goal line in Indianapolis, Batch botched the snap and Miami’s Will Allen pounced on it.
But the Steelers rebounded, shutting down the Dolphins, and getting a controversial 87-yard touchdown catch from Heath Miller. Joey Porter added an interception return later, and Pittsburgh pulled away.
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