DENVER | Rarely has playing it safe paid off so well for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tyrone Carter started in place of safety Ryan Clark as a precaution Monday night and made the big play that sparked the Steelers to their fifth straight win, taking the first of his two interceptions 48 yards for a touchdown in Pittsburgh’s 28-10 win over the Denver Broncos.
Clark nearly died after a game in Denver two years ago because of a rare blood disorder that is aggravated by playing in high altitude, so Steelers coach Mike Tomlin decided to hold him out of the game.
He said he didn’t want to risk Clark’s health or burden his teammates and family members with worry.
“Ryan likes to play. He’s probably hacked off at me that I didn’t play him,” Tomlin said. “But he will get over it.”
He already is, apparently.
“My goal for this trip was to go back with the team on the plane,” Clark said. “Last time I came out, I didn’t make it back with them.”
Carter capped his night with his second interception with 15 seconds left, and Clark, dressed in charcoal sweats and a smile on the sideline, jumped up and down in celebration.
Hines Ward caught two short touchdown passes from Ben Roethlisberger, including one in which he hauled in a pass in the flat and hurdled cornerback Champ Bailey on his way into the end zone. That capped the scoring with 1:22 remaining.
Carter’s first interception return gave Pittsburgh a 7-3 halftime lead.
“I’ll tell you, Ryan is like a brother to me. We’ve been in this thing together for a long time,” Carter said. “The bond is so tight between all of us. But to know that he can’t play today and knowing that he wanted to be out there, I just wanted to make sure that I went out there and played for him, and let him know I’m there for him, that we were still going to be all right.”
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