Roethlisberger Is 50-1 for Six More Scores

Ben Roethlisberger sets his sights on the New York Jets after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback became the first player in National Football League history to throw 12 touchdown passes in two games.

Roethlisberger, 32, has thrown for six scores in each of the Steelers’ past two games, wins against the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens. The only other quarterback to throw for six touchdowns in a game twice in a single season was Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle in 1962.

Roethlisberger, according to MyTopSportsBooks.com, is given 50-1 odds of throwing for another six touchdowns this weekend in East Rutherford, New Jersey, against the beleaguered Jets, who are 1-8 and seeking to avoid the first nine-game losing streak in franchise history.

“Ben is whipping that ball like he never has before,” said former quarterback Steve Beuerlein, who is now a CBS Corp. NFL analyst. “He’s never been a big numbers guy compared to Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. But these last two weeks he’s come out and said, ‘I can sling it with the best of them.’”

Roethlisberger’s 12 touchdown passes over the past two games broke the previous record of 11 set by Tom Flores in 1963 and matched by Tom Brady in 2007. After Pittsburgh’s 43-23 win against the Ravens, Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons said it was like a “video game out there” for Roethlisberger.

At 50-1 odds, a winning $100 bet on Roethlisberger to throw another six touchdowns this weekend at MetLife Stadium would yield a $5,000 profit.

‘Big Ben’

The quarterback nicknamed “Big Ben” totaled 10 touchdown passes in the Steelers’ first seven games this season. The odds of him throwing for two scores against the Jets is 4-1, according to MyTopSportsBooks. Next at 6-1 odds is one touchdown pass, followed by three scores at 10-1, four at 22-1 and five touchdown passes at 33-1.

“It is a huge concern,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said about facing Roethlisberger, who has connected on 65 of 86 passes for 862 yards the past two weeks. “To say that we have our work cut out for us is an understatement. Right now, they’re carving things up.”

Roethlisberger and the Steelers (6-3) on Nov. 9 face a Jets defense that’s allowed the sixth-fewest yards in the league, yet has surrendered more points -- 252 -- than any team in the NFL. The Jets have an NFL-low one interception through nine games; no other club has fewer than three.

Ryan’s defense has three total turnovers. The NFL record for the fewest turnovers forced is 11, by Baltimore in 1982. The Jets have committed 13 more turnovers than they’ve forced this season -- the NFL’s worst differential.

Road Favorites

The Steelers are 4 1/2-point favorites over the Jets after the betting line opened at -2 1/2. They’ll be seeking to improve to 18-4 against the Jets during the regular season.

While the Jets are buried in last place in the American Football Conference’s East division, Pittsburgh has climbed into first place in the AFC North during Roethlisberger’s record run.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said his team hasn’t changed its offensive personality the past two weeks. What’s improved is Pittsburgh’s offensive execution and cohesion, Tomlin said. Fifteen of the league’s 32 teams, including the Jets, have 12 passing touchdowns or fewer for the entire season.

“We should be a group on the rise, but I’m not discounting what Ben is doing right now,” Tomlin said at a news conference. “We don’t take it for granted. It’s been really good, but it’s not unlike him. He’s capable of heating up and going for these stretches.”