Commentary: Roethlisberger Ranks As One Of the Best Play-Action QB’s in the NFL

Pulling off a perfect play-action is a lost art form in the NFL, but if you have a player at the quarterback position that can pull it off, it makes it a valuable weapon for a team when they pull it off.

Luckily for the black and gold, they have a player that has gotten nothing but better at pulling off the play-action the past few seasons, that being Ben Roethlisberger.

The veteran QB is mentioned in an article by Sports Illustrated – The NFL’s Hidden Talents: Best play-action quarterbacks.

Here’s what author Doug Farrar has to say about Big Ben and his ability to shine when it comes to play-action:

Roethlisberger is a veteran quarterback with tremendous mobility and physicality, the arm to make any throw, and a total command of his offense. It’s no surprise that he’d be a great play-action quarterback, especially with the highly productive Le’Veon Bell in the backfield and the equally valuable Antonio Brown on the perimeter as his primary target. And the numbers match up: In 2014, Big Ben threw 10 touchdowns and just one interception in just 143 attempts with play-action, as opposed to 23 touchdowns and 10 picks in 556 attempts without it. His yards per attempt average was the same either way (8.1), but he was clearly helped by the extra layer of defensive confusion.

While there are deep play-action passes in Pittsburgh’s playbook, I really liked Roethlisberger’s touchdown pass to Heath Miller against the Bengals in Week 14. The Steelers went out in a three-tight end set, with Michael Palmer motioning from right to left and Matt Spaeth already on the left side. Bell and fullback Will Johnson drew the defense to the left, and end Carlos Dunlap and linebacker Rey Maualuga bit so hard on the fake Miller actually ran through them to get open for the score.

It’s a solid article that talks in-depth about the lost art in the league, and while Ben is on the list for his ability to produce magic, fellow QB’s that make the list include: Andrew Luck of the Colts, Philip River of the Chargers, Russell Wilson of the Seahawks and Eli Manning of the NY Giants.