Roethlisberger the model for what Bears want Cutler to be

The Bears pointed to Ben Roethlisberger as their model quarterback when he set an NFL record by leading Pittsburgh to 13 consecutive wins his rookie season.

The Bears wanted Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman to be like Roethlisberger not just for how much he won, but for how he won. He threw more than 25 passes just once that year. Pittsburgh won with defense and a strong running game, with an occasional big play by Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger is still a model for the Bears, but now it’s for how they’d like Jay Cutler to play. Only Roethlisberger doesn’t see it that way.

“Shoot, he’s the Pro Bowler last year. He should give me the advice,” Roethlisberger said on a teleconference.

Roethlisberger and Cutler, who square off at 3:15 p.m. Sunday at Soldier Field, are two of the best big-play passers in the league. They are also two of the hardest to bring down.

“He’s able to extend a play,” Bears cornerback Nathan Vasher said of Roethlisberger. “He’s a huuuuge man. You feel you have him, and he’ll escape and throw it down field. We have to stay on our toes.”

The difference is Cutler will throw it into a crowd (four interceptions last week) before taking a sack (11 against 616 pass attempts last year), while Roethlisberger won’t throw until he sees someone open, no matter how much he’s rushed (139 sacks the last three years).

“He likes to make plays right up until the end,” Bears coach Lovie Smith said. “He does it as well as anyone.”

Especially at the very end.

Two other differences between Cutler and Roethlisberger are that Cutler has never been in the playoffs, while Roethlisberger owns two Super Bowl rings, and that Roethlisberger has earned a reputation as the new John Elway. He has led the Steelers on an NFL-leading 18 game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime since he entered the league six years ago, with eight of those touchdowns scored in the last 35 seconds. And that doesn’t count the Super Bowl, when he accounted for all 88 yards in Pittsburgh’s game-winning drive in the final 2:30.

“Some people thrive on those moments and others don’t,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Ben is a guy who thrives in those moments. He’s at his best in the face of adversity. He sees those moments with great clarity.

“Week in and week out, games are going to be decided by a few critical plays in a few critical moments, and we have a quarterback built for those moments.”

That’s a big reason why the Steelers are 19-6 in games decided by six points or less with Roethlisberger at quarterback.

Roethlisberger now owns 23 team records after only five full seasons, but seems proudest of his growing fourth-quarter reputation.

“It’s an awesome honor,” Roethlisberger said, “to want the ball in your hands the last shot, to want the ball in your hands with that last drive. That’s me. I want to do it.”

Roethlisberger has gone from a quarterback Pittsburgh can win with (8-2 in the playoffs, an NFL-record 51 wins his first five seasons) to a quarterback who makes the Steelers win. He’s topped 250 yards passing in four of his last six playoff games and had a passer rating above 93 in five of his last eight. Tom Brady, the gold standard for winning quarterbacks, has topped an 84 rating only twice in his last seven playoff games.

This is now Roethlisberger’s offense. The Steelers ranked a lowly 23rd in rushing last year. Yet they’re the champs thanks to Roethlisberger’s clutch passing. And they’ve picked up where they left off, winning their opener in overtime, despite averaging 1.6 yards per carry, after Roethlisberger completed 17 of his final 19 passes.

Everything seems to have changed since his rookie season. And yet nothing has changed on the scoreboard.

“For me and for us, it’s about winning football games,” Roethlisberger said. “However that needs to be done, that’s what you’ve got to do. If that’s running the ball at any time in the game, that’s what you’ve got to do. If it’s passing, you’ve got to do that too.”

Matt Trowbridge can be reached at (815) 987-1383 or mtrowbridge@rrstar.com.