What Ben Roethlisberger has accomplished in the last two weeks — with back-to-back games of six passing touchdowns—is something that can only be put into proper context by consulting the all-time record books.

A six-touchdown passing game is pretty rare. There have only been 32 such games in NFL history. The only other quarterback to have two such games in the same season was Y.A. Tittle back in 1962, and Big Ben is the only player to have done it twice in the same month, never mind in consecutive weeks, having torched the Baltimore Ravens last week. Roethlisberger has now accomplished this feat more times than have Kurt Warner, John Elway, Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Johnny Unitas, or Steve Young. Combined. (None of them have ever done it.)

Amazingly, Roethlisberger’s 522-yard game in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts was even more rare; it was just the 15th 500-yard passing game in NFL history, and Big Ben — who already had his name on that exclusive list thanks to a 503-yard effort in 2009— became the only player to do it twice.

Both the Ravens and Colts look like playoff teams, yet Roethlisberger still decimated them both in the last two weeks. What is the Steelers offense doing so well now, and how has it changed from earlier in the season?

Good is the Enemy of Great

Despite the heroics of late, Roethlisberger actually struggled with his decision-making in the first few games of this season. By repeatedly waiting for a better option instead of making the simple check-down, he often got sacked — stalling numerous drives in the red zone.

For example, in this long third-and-goal during Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, Ben’s initial read shows three open receivers more than 10 yards from the goal line. Instead of dumping it off underneath, and letting his receivers pick up yards after the catch (and possibly score), Roethlisberger holds onto the ball hoping someone will get free in the end zone. The gambit fails, the Browns tally up a sack, and the Steelers settle for the field goal:

During the Steelers’ Week 2 loss to the Ravens. Roethlisberger does not see the wide-open Antonio Brown, instead trying to squeeze a pass to Heath Miller — who is five yards further down the field — between two defenders. If the throw wasn’t off-line, it probably would have been intercepted:

Fast-forward to Pittsburgh’s Week 8 demolition of the Colts. Here, Ben does not hesitate to “settle” for the wide-open check-down on second down in the red zone:

By taking the sure yards, Roethlisberger set his team up for a favorable first-and-goal situation, instead of an imposing third-and-7 after an incompletion. He would throw for a touchdown on the next play.

Spacing the Field

Typically, offensive spacing comes within the purview of basketball coaches, but early-season funky play designs made it an issue for the Steelers, too.

Back to Week 2 against the Ravens. Here’s a second-and-4 in the red zone where the Steelers opted to deploy an empty backfield and five wide outs:

The formation should, in theory, have been a hellacious one for Baltimore’s secondary to contend with, but in reality, it was very easy for them to snuff out — mostly because three Steelers WRs bunched together on the left side of the field failed to get separation and practically ran into one another:

The safety and linebacker were left to cover a completely empty middle of the field, allowing them to roll over to the right side for an easy double-team — pass incomplete.

Changing up the offensive formation wasn’t the answer, either. The Steelers tried using two tight ends and running back Le’Veon Bell as blockers on this Week 5 red zone play against the Jacksonville Jaguars:

The Jaguars — a much better defensive team than people realize — were able to neutralize Pittsburgh’s two outside wide receivers with single coverage, which allows other players to camp out in the middle of the field for any Steelers that leak out past the line of scrimmage.

Against the Colts in Week 9, however, the first of the two 6-touchdown games, the good spacing was plain as day:

The defense is able to shut down a few of the passing options, but not all five of them. This plays ends up with a touchdown pass to Martavis Bryant — who happens to represent perhaps the most important change to the Steelers’ offense.

Martavis Bryant

After being a healthy scratch for the first six games, Pittsburgh’s fourth-round pick has caught ten passes for 167 yards and five touchdowns in his first three NFL games. What?!

Prior to Bryant’s emergence, the Steelers already had an enviable quartet of options in the passing game: Antonio Brown leads the league in receiving yards and catches, Le’Veon Bell is a big threat to gain extra yards out of the backfield, Heath Miller is a reliable presence in the middle, and Markus Wheaton is a speedy receiver who can stretch the field on any play. Add Bryant to the mix, and the Steelers are one of the only teams in the league who can roll out five legitimate pass-catching weapons at once.

Offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s abundance of weapons forces opposing safeties to pick their poison, and Roethlisberger has been around long enough to know how to exploit the poor choices they make. In this Week 9 touchdown against Baltimore, it’s hard not to feel sorry for Ravens safety Darian Stewart. Both Brown (far side) and Bryant (near side) head for the end zone.

Decisions, decisions:

The cornerbacks and other safety have their own problems trying to cover their three wide outs in the middle of the field, and nobody covers Bryant. Stewart makes a mad dash, but it’s far too late, and Bryant scores untouched:

Later, in the same game, it was Will Hill found himself serving as Roethlisberger’s unfortunate mark. With four receivers coming his way, the Ravens safety backpedaled all the way into the endzone:

Faced with a no-win situation, Hill elected to cover Bryant only after the pass from Roethlisberger was already airborne:

And, again, it was too little, too late:

Believe it or not, Pittsburgh has actually produced its fair share of dynamic receivers recently — Mike Wallace, Santonio Holmes, Emmanuel Sanders, Nate Washington, Antwaan Randel El, Plaxico Burress, and Hines Ward have all worn the black and gold — and the trio of Brown, Wheaton and Bryant seems poised to continue a new Steel City tradition.

The days of the franchise’s stifling defense and stout line play are over, as Ben Roethlisberger has remade Pittsburgh into the ultimate wide receiver’s finishing school.