That never happens

Jerome Bettis never fumbles. Peyton Manning never mismanages the clock. Mike Vanderjagt never misses a field goal. Oh yeah, and quarterbacks make tackles only slightly more frequently than kickers force fumbles.

The only one who could do anything about it was Roethlisberger, who made a critical decision the instant he saw the ball squirt free. His first instinct was to dive after it, but he realized he had no chance and began retreating like a center fielder who'd lost a fly ball but wasn't about to let it get over his head.

Roethlisberger began to serpentine, trying to avoid any potential blockers.

"I think I turned him enough times that he got close to me and couldn't decide which way to go," Roethlisberger said. "I just saw his leg and grabbed it, and luckily he went down."

As Roethlisberger noted, luck played a part in his fortuitous stop of Nick Harper. Still, is that not the most clutch thing you've ever heard in your life?

I've never felt that much of an adrenaline rush over a football game. My heart was literally pounding for quite a while.