Without Big Ben, Steelers melt down

It could have been the most hyped showdown of the NFL regular season. Instead, with Ben Roethlisberger on the sideline wearing a gray shirt and a frown, the Pittsburgh Steelers were destined to go down.

Roethlisberger is a gunslinger. Replacing him with Landry Jones is similar to subbing Barney Fife for John Wayne in a Wild West shootout.

Sometimes, we make this handicapping exercise too complicated. Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were not losing to Barney Fife on Sunday, and all they had to do was cover seven points. The public got paid by arriving at a simple conclusion.

“Obviously, we needed the Steelers. It was the biggest game of the day,” Westgate sports book director Jay Kornegay said. “We kind of knew what to expect from Landry Jones, and so did the betting public.”

Brady passed for 222 yards and two touchdowns, LeGarrette Blount rushed for 127 yards and two touchdowns, and Jones led one of the worst last-ditch drives ever witnessed as the Patriots put away Pittsburgh 2716.

“The key was the Patriots’ game. That was the biggest decision for us,” said Nick Bogdanovich of William Hill sports books, where approximately 90 percent of the money wagered on the game was on the favorite.

Jones attempted to replace Roethlisberger, who was out after knee surgery, and he did a respectable job at times. The Steelers had problems with their defense, special teams and hurry-up offense.

“I was hoping for the backdoor cover,” Kornegay said, “but it wasn’t going to happen with Jones.”

With three minutes to play and Pittsburgh trailing by 11, Jones