NFL

It’s Brett vs. Big Ben in Steel City showdown

Favre's perfect Vikings take on Roethlisberger's defending champ Steelers

Elsa / Getty Images

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leads the NFL in yards passing, something no Steelers quarterback has done for a full season since the 1970 merger, and has three 300-yard games this season.

updated 12:24 a.m. ET Oct. 24, 2009

PITTSBURGH - This is exactly why the Minnesota Vikings spent the summer trying to persuade Brett Favre to end his latest retirement: to run their offense, not be their offense.

To show them how to win big games, especially those in difficult road settings such as Pittsburgh. To complete the passes that must be completed, to win the games that simply can't be lost.

They wanted him to be Ben Roethlisberger.

There are numerous subplots to Sunday's important game between the unbeaten Vikings (6-0) and Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2), one that matches a team playing like a champion against one that's proven twice in the last four seasons it is a champion.

Can NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson, called by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin the best football player in the world, break off runs against one of the best defenses of its era? Can a getting-healthy Troy Polamalu disrupt one of the league's best-balanced offenses? Can the Steelers' improved offensive line handle the Vikings' run-controlling defensive front?

Ultimately, it may come down to what nearly everyone wants to see: Can a still-young quarterback who's already won two Super Bowls prevent an ageless quarterback he admired as a youngster from taking a small but significant step toward winning his second?

Even more intriguing is that while Roethlisberger spent his first five seasons mostly managing the Steelers' offense, he's quickly transforming himself into a modern-day version of Favre.

"They are playing to their quarterback," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "He's (Roethlisberger) obviously come a long way from making eight throws in a game and handing the ball off. I don't think they are that type of football team. They are not trying to deceive."

Roethlisberger leads the NFL in yards passing, something no Steelers quarterback has done for a full season since the 1970 merger, and has three 300-yard games this season. Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw had only four during his entire Steelers career.

Asked if the 27-year-old Roethlisberger reminds him of Favre, Childress said, "A young Brett Favre."

"I grew up watching Brett and idolizing him and molding a little bit of my game after him," Roethlisberger said. "It will be fun to play against him for the first time. He's a legend and I'm just trying to get to his level."

Curiously, at the same time, the 40-year-old Favre is becoming more like a younger Roethlisberger, a player whose most impressive statistic is his winning percentage, not his completion percentage.

With Peterson around, Favre doesn't need to chuck the ball carelessly and recklessly — he has 12 touchdown passes, only two interceptions and a 109.5 passer rating, his best such numbers at this stage of a season. He's proving a quarterback doesn't need to lead by arm alone; he's never been 6-0 in his career before, and now he has a chance to be 7-0.

"I've just practiced and gone about it as (if) I was 25," Favre said.

Played like it, too.

"I guess in some ways I would have thought we would be 6-0," Favre said. "Maybe not quite the way we have. I knew we could run the ball. That has been obvious. I didn't think we would be as productive in the passing game."

CONTINUED : 'It really comes down to making plays'

1 | 2 | Next >