Big Ben prefers to revel in the moment

PITTSBURGH - If you were looking for Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to start talking about redemption after leading the Steelers to their third Super Bowl in six seasons with a 24-19 win over the Jets in the AFC title game, forget it. In his moment of triumph, the last thing he wanted to do was relive the sexual-assault allegation that led to his four-game suspension to start the season.

Asked about looking back to the start of the season, Roethlisberger sidestepped that line of questioning as nimbly as he did the Jets' pass rush. "I don't. I don't," he said last night. "I'll stop you now. I don't. Not at all."

Nor did Roethlisberger want to look down the road two weeks to a meeting with Green Bay in Super Bowl XLV. He was content to bask in the moment.

The closest he came to reflection was in comparing what the Steelers had to do to get here with their previous two Super Bowl trips.

"We put a lot of stuff behind us early and found a way to get it done," he said. "We weren't always the prettiest team, but we had guys step in and fill in for guys at critical times this season."

Perfect example: Steelers rookie center Maurkice Pouncey left the game near the end of their opening touchdown drive with a high-ankle sprain and was replaced by second-year man Doug Legursky.

"When he comes in, I just tell the guys, 'Everyone relax,' " Roethlisberger said. "We have all the faith in the world that Doug will make the right [blocking] calls, which he did."

The Steelers totaled 135 of their 166 rushing yards in the first half and took a 24-0 lead en route to a 24-3 halftime advantage. It began with the opening 15-play drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown run by Rashard Mendenhall, who rushed for 121 yards.

"It took the whole first quarter," Roethlisberger said of a drive that actually lasted 9:06. "That's huge. Any time you can come out and set the tone and the tempo running the ball and throwing the ball, moving down the field and putting points on the board, it feels good."

Roethlisberger took a knee to his left thigh from Jets linebacker Calvin Pace early in the first drive and limped for a bit with a thigh bruise on the cold night. But that didn't prevent him from scrambling for 12 yards on third-and-12 at the Jets' 25 to keep the drive going.

In the second half, the Jets mounted a comeback to pull within 24-19 with 3:06 to play. But they never got the ball back because Roethlisberger completed first-down passes to Heath Miller and rookie wide receiver Antonio Brown. The last one came on third-and-6 at the Jets' 40 and went for 14 yards to ice the game.

"It was kind of intended for Hines [Ward]," Roethlisberger said, referring to the 13-year veteran. "We expected [the Jets] to bring the house, and they dropped everybody. It was a really, really tight window to get it to Hines. My thought was, 'Let's try and run it.' I started running to the sideline, and next thing you know, 'AB' comes flying across the field. He beat them with speed. I just threw it, and he made a heck of a catch."