Ben Roethlisberger has done what no other quarterback has done in Pittsburgh – post back-to-back six touchdown passes in a game. In fact, no other quarterback in the National Football League has ever passed for 12 touchdowns in two games. Roethlisberger earned the Steelers Digest Player of the Week honor after completing 25-of-37 passes for 340 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions despite being sacked three plays in a row against the Baltimore Ravens.
Steelers fans knew ‘Big Ben’ to be a tough leader, and against the Baltimore Ravens he took a hard hit to the chin only to loosen up his arm and find open receivers for points on the scoreboard.
Last week (against the Indianapolis Colts), Roethlisberger was only a few yards short of Norm Van Brocklin’s NFL record for passing yards in a game.
In three weeks, Roethlisberger has silenced critics who felt that he was no longer an elite quarterback, had seen his best days on the football field and was mediocre at best. Roethlisberger walked onto Heinz Field and slammed the door on the Houston Texans, Colts and then the Ravens, picking the Steelers up off of the turf and providing veteran leadership – and then he simply shattered the ceiling that NFL quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning appeared closer to breaking.
Roethlisberger certainly appears to be giving Pittsburgh a reason to keep him around as their franchise quarterback following the season. Although the team wouldn’t extend his contract before the season, the Rooney family has just seen history made yet again in their franchise. The argument that the team needs to reach out to him and allow Roethlisberger to finish his career in Pittsburgh is likely to be just beginning.
2 Comments
Leave a Reply
Show Your Team Spirit
Get Your Steelers Tickets
Steelers Gab Newsletter
Sign up to receive our Steelers Gab newsletter, and keep up to date with all the latest Pittsburgh Steelers news.
DrGeorge
November 3, 2014 at 12:12 pm
Christina, I love your enthusiasm, but it is far too early to anoint Saint Ben. He is a superb athlete, and when he disciplines himself to play within Haley’s system, he excels. When he takes too much of the load onto to himself and tries to do it all with his arm (see the first four games of this season), he takes an inordinate number of sacks, sustains needless injuries, and ignores the running game. And his salary skews the Steelers ability to pursue and hire free agents\ top draft picks, which has contributed to our failure to hire key players, especially on defense. At his age, management must balance future productivity against Ben’s astronomical salary.
Consider, for comparison, the success of Seattle’s Wilson, or Miami’s Tannehill, or even a retread like Carson Palmer in Arizona. None of them have Rothlisberger’s skill set, but they are all effective – and cost their clubs much less money. The dilemma for the Steelers is that Ben’s present salary has kept them from developing a viable backup, which almost forces them to negotiate with Ben. The likely scenario is that Ben will be resigned to a monster contract, but that the guaranteed money will be modest so that Ben can be cut when that becomes strategically wise.
Pingback: God bless Ben! | portfoliolongo