Great expectations: Roethlisberger’s fire still burns bright
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger only tossed a few warmups before Sunday’s win against Cincinnati and still passed for 317 yards and two touchdowns in the game.
Ben Roethlisberger tied for the NFL lead with 4,952 passing yards during the regular season. His 32 touchdown passes tied a career-high.
PITTSBURGH – Ben Roethlisberger was so sick before last Sunday’s game at Heinz Field against the Cincinnati Bengals, he was unable to go out with his teammates for pre-game warmups.
But there was no panic among the Steelers’ players that their Pro Bowl quarterback wouldn’t play against Cincinnati with the AFC North title at stake.
“You couldn’t even tell he was sick when he was out on the field,” said Steelers left tackle Kelvin Beachum. “In the locker room, you could tell something was wrong. Once he got on the field, he was a football player. Once you’re on the field, you forget about that stuff. He’s a competitor. He’s a leader.”
There was no way Roethlisberger, sick or not, was going to miss a game with the division title and a home game in the playoffs, which will be played tonight against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field, on the line.
His only warm-up tosses came on the sidelines moments before the game with receiver Antonio Brown and tight end Heath Miller.
All Roethlisberger did was complete 24 of 38 passes for 317 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in Pittsburgh’s 27-17 victory over the Bengals.
“That’s some (Michael) Jordan-type stuff he did,” said Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey, referring to Jordan’s 1997 Game 5 performance in the NBA Finals against Utah when he scored 38 points while battling the flu to lead the Chicago Bulls to a victory.
The comparison isn’t that far off.
Jordan only did what was expected of him. The Steelers have the same expectations of Roethlisberger.
“He’s been there,” said head coach Mike Tomlin when asked if the Steelers take those kind of efforts for granted. “Yes.”
At 32, Roethlisberger fashioned his finest season as a pro. He tied New Orleans’ Drew Brees for the league lead in passing yards with a team-record 4,952 while also matching his own team record with 32 touchdown passes.
In addition, Roethlisberger’s passer rating of 103.3, the second-highest of his career, was the best in the AFC, a conference that includes Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Andrew Luck, all quarterbacks who receive far more publicity than the Steelers’ signal caller. Only Tony Romo of Dallas at 113.2 and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers at 112.2 were better.
“I don’t compare anybody to seasons past or other players,” said Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh. “But Ben is playing his usual great self. I think he’s at the top of his game and is one of, if not, the best quarterbacks in football. Let me re-phrase that. He’s one of the best quarterbacks in football. He’s just a great player.”
Harbaugh should know.
His team faced the Steelers at least twice per season since 2008 when he became head coach of the Ravens. Today’s matchup will mark the third time in that span the Steelers and Ravens played in the postseason. Roethlisberger led the Steelers to wins over Harbaugh’s Ravens eight times in 12 games, including twice in playoff games.
He often saves his best for the postseason, where he owns a 10-4 record, something that shows his competitive nature.
But he hasn’t won a playoff game since leading the Steelers over the New York Jets in the 2010 AFC Championship.
“He doesn’t like to lose at anything,” said Brown. “That’s one of the things that makes him great. It doesn’t matter what it is. You even see it when we had our softball game at training camp. He just wants to win.”
The Steelers also expect to win when Roethlisberger plays. There’s a good reason for it. He led Pittsburgh to a 106-52 record in his 158 career starts and earlier this season joined former Steelers’ great Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana and Brady as the only quarterbacks to lead their respective teams to 100 wins in 150 or fewer starts.
Bradshaw and Montanta, a Ringgold High School graduate, are already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Brady is a lock as well once his career ends.
Roethlisberger, who led the Steelers to three Super Bowls, winning twice, also should someday enjoy that honor, not that he’s ready to end his career anytime soon. He has one year remaining on his current contract, though Steelers President Art Rooney II said that the team will work out a new deal with the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback during the offseason, whenever that might start.
General manager Kevin Colbert said in training camp the team would only be too happy to negotiate that new deal with Roethlisberger coming off a great season that ended with a Super Bowl championship.
Roethlisberger already accomplished part of that. The second part of that journey begins today.
And given his will to win, it’s hard to bet against the Steelers’ quarterback.
As he showed against the Bengals, he hates losing even more than he enjoys winning.
“I think that’s the lifelong question you ask any athlete,” he said when queried about which drives him more. “I hate to lose. (I) love winning, but I think when you lose, it’s kind of everybody. You let everybody down. So to me, that’s the disappointing part.”