EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The main thing separating Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning on Saturday was the Steelers' rookie quarterback made his biggest plays with the game on the line.
Roethlisberger threw for a season-high 316 yards and hit four consecutive passes to set up Jerome Bettis' winning 1-yard run with 4:57 to go, leading Pittsburgh to a 33-30 win over the Giants.
"I am amazed, but he is an awesome quarterback," receiver Antwaan Randle El said after Roethlisberger led the Steelers (13-1) to a team-record 12th straight win and handed the Giants (5-9) a seventh straight loss.
"He might have a long way to go, but he has this great poise," said Randle El, who caught five passes for 149 yards and a touchdown and also threw his first career touchdown. "You can have all the ability in the world, but if you don't have the poise to do it, it won't happen."
Roethlisberger, who has not lost in 25 straight college and pro starts, showed his poise in moving the Steelers from their 33 to the New York 8 after Tiki Barber's 1-yard run gave New York a 30-26 lead.
"He has been making good decisions with games on the line," coach Bill Cowher said of the 11th pick in the NFL draft. "In the fourth quarter he has a feel for the game and an understanding of the game, and he manages it well."
Until Saturday, Manning struggled in losing his first four starts. The No. 1 pick in the draft was horrible in his past two games and seemingly had lost his confidence.
Using a game plan filled with plays he liked, Manning improved against the NFL's top-ranked defense. He threw two touchdown passes and set up Barber's go-ahead touchdown with three completions of 15 yards or more.
"I had fun because we were getting some stuff done," said Manning, who completed 16 of 23 for 182 yards. "We were making plays, running the ball, the line was protecting, receivers were making catches. We got in a rhythm and it was back to playing football again. It was a good feeling."
Roethlisberger hit five passes of 34 or more yards in a much-hyped matchup with Manning, who only had one of more than 20 yards.
Randle El caught a 35-yard touchdown pass and threw a 10-yard shovel pass to Verron Haynes for a touchdown. Jeff Reed kicked four field goals, Hines Ward had nine catches for 134 yards despite finishing the game with a hip pointer, and Bettis ran for 140.
Manning threw TD passes of 2 yards to Jeremy Shockey and 1 yard to Marcellus Rivers. He hit Amani Toomer with two 17-yard passes and added a 15-yarder to Ike Hilliard to set up Barber's go-ahead run.
Roethlisberger then sandwiched passes of 9 and 11 yards to Ward around a dump-off to Bettis before hitting Randle El for 36 yards to the Giants 8. Three straight runs by Bettis got the ball in the end zone.
Willie Williams picked off a throw to a tripped Toomer on the next series, and the Steelers ran out the clock.
Giants receiver Willie Ponder took the opening kickoff 91 yards for a score. It was the Giants' first opening kickoff return for a touchdown in a regular-season home game.
Steelers running back Duce Staley and receiver Plaxico Burress missed the game with hamstring injuries. In Staley's absence, Bettis set a Steelers' record with his 48th 100-yard rushing game, one more than Franco Harris and fifth best in NFL history.
Dolphins still searching
Former Raiders coach Art Shell is interested in Miami's coaching job. He would join LSU coach Nick Saban, the heavy favorite, as a candidate, the Associated Press reported.
By interviewing Shell, the NFL's senior vice president for football operations, Miami would comply with a league requirement that teams interview a minority candidate for any coaching vacancy. Shell became the first black coach of the modern era in 1989, but he hasn't been a coach since 1994.
Dolphins interim coach Jim Bates also is expected to interview.
