With Ben Roethlisberger severely hobbled on a gimpy left ankle, the Steelers quarterback still managed to drive the offense down to the goal line for another great opportunity. Big Ben hit Antonio Brown for a 27 yard gain and then appeared to hook up with his favorite target, Mike Wallace for a touchdown. The Steelers appeared to extend their lead to 14-3 on the Wallace touchdown, but the play was overturned. Wallace's knee grazed the grass before he lunged across the plane, and the official review took the seven points off the board.
With first and goal on the one, the Browns defense, led by an amazing individual effort by linebacker Chris Gocong, stuffed four straight Pittsburgh runs to keep the Steelers from scoring. Gocong smashed Rashard Mendenhall on first down, and then chipped in on the three subsequent runs to prevent the score. Ben Roethlisberger appeared to want to go for it on fourth and inches, but it was a peculiar call, with a hobbled quarterback unable to effectively sneak it in from that distance. The field goal would have given Pittsburgh a lead by a touchdown, but Mendenhall was stuffed for the fourth straight time.
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