Roethlisberger hoping for loud, crazy crowd at home opener

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers survived a scare on Sunday.

They beat the Browns by only three points, but quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knows that winning is all that counts.

"It shouldn't matter what your stats are. Stats are for individuals. Winning is for team." Roethlisberger said at his Wednesday morning interview session.

He came out of that game with a lot of respect for the Browns, saying they had a really good defense.

"That team is going to surprise a lot of people. I am glad we played them game one," he said.

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Now the focus shifts to Sunday's home opener against the Minnesota Vikings, a team coming off a win, and a solid defensive effort, versus the Saints on "Monday Night Football."

"They have some personnel, guys they move around. They don't do as much double barrel.  It's early in the year so we're never quite sure what we're going to see," he said.

Roethlisberger hopes it will be loud and crazy for his 14th home opener with the Steelers. He said he knows a loud crowd can give the Steelers a distinctive advantage.

"We need to bring back that home field, Heinz Field kind of mystic." he said. "Teams need to fear coming into Heinz Field, one because of the fans and the craziness, and two because of our play."

Sunday's kickoff against the Vikings is at 1 p.m.

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