Category: Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger: 2 milestones to watch for today

Big Ben will make franchise history today at Heinz Field.

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With 311 yards and two touchdowns last Sunday, Ben Roethlisberger surpassed Eli Manning in passing yards and touchdowns.

While he handily passed the retired Manning, he needs 2,764 to move into 6th place where Philip Rivers currently sits. Certainly an attainable goal for the season.

Big Ben is climbing up the ladder of passing yards career leaders but will need to throw for 6,201 total yards this season to surpass Dan Marino at 61,361. Steelers Nation will have to wait until next year, Week 2 or 3, for that.

Roethlisberger has averaged 270 yards per game through two weeks. If at the end of the season, he’s averaged 300 per game, he’ll be at 60,865 yards and in 6th place.

As for passing touchdowns, Roethlisberger and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers are now neck-and-neck with 368 and 370. There remains a sizeable gap between him and Rivers at 399.

Today’s milestones

Roethlisberger needs three scores to move into 7th place with Rodgers. It could happen today.

The most significant milestone is a franchise one. Roethlisberger will play in his 221st game this afternoon and pass Hall of Fame center Mike Webster for the most in franchise history.

(Pittsburgh Steelers Twitter)

“I am so thankful to be in the black and gold 17 years later,” Roethlisberger said in a Wednesday press conference. “Almost half my life, I’ve been giving Steeler fans everything I have, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else; I wouldn’t want to do it for any other team or any other fans.”

“I’ve been blessed to be around a lot of great football players and talent and teammates,” continued Ben. “I did take a lot of beating early on. A lot of that was my fault. God made me a bigger man than most quarterbacks, so I think I can take it, and I’m just enjoying playing this game.”

With five more games, Roethlisberger will join San Fransisco 49ers kicker Robbie Gould in the 225 games-played category.

By season’s end, Big Ben will have played in 234 games. He would only need to play 149 games to eclipse the 382 of kicker Morten Andersen.

Only.

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Daily Fantasy: The one Steelers player you need to start in Week 3 on DraftKings

Diontae Johnson is flourishing with Ben Roethlisberger at QB and is the Steelers DraftKings player to start in Week 3 against Houston.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 2-0 and getting back to their balanced offensive attack with future of Hall of Fame quarterback Ben Roethlisberger healthy and resuming his climb up the NFL record books.

The Steelers returned to practice on Wednesday to prepare for the Texans in Week 3, and both wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster (knee) and Diontae Johnson (toe) sat out practice. Johnson currently leads the Steelers with 14 receptions for 149 yards and a touchdown and with Pittsburgh facing a Texans defense that currently ranks 25th in defensive efficiency, the young wideout is the Steelers player to pick up in DraftKings’ DFS format.

Fantasy football managers on Draftkings and all platforms should not only roster but start the second-year wideout who led the team with 59 receptions last season, and has become one of Roethlisberger’s most reliable targets.

Johnson has reached double-digit targets in each of the first two weeks including eight passes for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos last Sunday. Johnson and Smith-Schuster are looking like one of the top wide receiving duos in the league and the second-year pro should flourish while continuing to fly under the radar.

Ben Roethlisberger: 2 milestones to watch for today

Big Ben could be among elite company in yardage and touchdowns after this afternoon’s matchup.

In the Steelers Week 1 win over the New York Giants, Ben Roethlisberger’s three-touchdown, zero-interception performance moved him up a list of elite company.

Roethlisberger is now the sixth quarterback in NFL history to have 30 games in which he tossed three scores without a pick.

Should Big Ben pass for 250 yards in today’s matchup versus the Denver Broncos, he’ll pass Eli Manning for the seventh-most passing yards in league history.

(Pittsburgh Steelers Twitter)

But, wait — that’s not all. Steelers Nation could also see a touchdowns milestone made on Sunday. Roethlisberger will firmly hold the eighth spot for career touchdowns with one touchdown. Should he score two, he’ll tie Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Considering Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill put up 249 yards and two touchdowns on Denver last week, these milestones are more than attainable for Big Ben today.

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On this day: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger took the field and gave Pittsburgh life

A look inside Big Ben’s first-ever game to commemorate its 16-year anniversary.

It wasn’t quite how Bill Cowher envisioned introducing Ben Roethlisberger to regular-season action. The plan to ease in the rookie via instances where the Steelers dominated the scoreboard was squashed Week 2 of the 2004 season.

Unfortunately for Roethlisberger, it was the flip side of the projected scenario — 0-13 was far from the domination Cowher pictured for his newly-drafted QB. But it worked out. And for the better.

It was Sept. 19, 2004, in the second quarter of a critical rumble with the rival Baltimore Ravens. Quarterback Tommy Maddox was knocked out of the game with a sack-fumble by cornerback Gary Baxter.

Revealed later, Maddox had a torn ligament and tendon damage in his elbow, sidelining him six weeks.

The 22-year-old Roethlisberger, drafted by the Steelers 11th-overall only a few months earlier, was about to come off the bench for the first (and last) time.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Maddox’s fumble was recovered by lineman Terrell Suggs and returned 24 yards to the Steelers 1-yard line. Jamal Lewis ran it in, and, just like that, Pittsburgh was down by 20 with not so much as a field goal on the scoreboard.

With little time to get Roethlisberger warmed up, the Steelers ran the ball on five consecutive plays and punted. As the rookie physically and mentally prepared on the sideline, the defense kept Baltimore from inflicting further damage on their ensuing drive.

The Steelers had good field position for Roethlisberger’s first go, as Ravens punter Dave Zastudil sent the ball down the field just 31 yards.

From Pittsburgh’s 41-yard line, the quarterback we would soon dub “Big Ben” went to work. Roethlisberger’s first pass, intended for Plaxico Burress, was incomplete. His second, intended for Hines Ward, was intercepted.

Welcome to the NFL

Roethlisberger quickly shook off the rookie nerves during Baltimore’s 3-and-out drive.

While his second drive resulted in a punt, Ben did manage to go 2-for-2. The first play of his next drive resulted in a sack for an 11-yard loss. The sack affected his game for the better, however, as Roethlisberger’s two subsequent passes were complete, the second a 58-yard bomb to a smiling Ward on a critical 3rd-and-long.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

After a Duce Staley run for no gain, it was second down and three to go when Roethlisberger dropped back and threw his first career touchdown to Antwan Randel El for Pittsburgh’s first points of the day.

Ben’s second touchdown was a 12-yarder to Ward, followed on the next drive by his second interception, returned 51-yards for a touchdown.

Despite the two picks, Roethlisberger showed a veteran’s poise under high-pressure circumstances. He finished the game with two touchdowns, 176 yards, and a passer rating of 83.

With that, Big Ben became the first rookie of the 2004 NFL Draft class to start a game the following week (versus the Miami Dolphins). It would be the first of 14 straight wins for Roethlisberger’s Steelers to end the regular season 15-1. The New England Patriots defeated Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship game, 41-27.

In the blink of an eye, the Tommy Maddox era was over, and the Ben Roethlisberger era had begun. And Pittsburgh found its first franchise quarterback since the retirement of Terry Bradshaw 20 years earlier.

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Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger talks new weapons and the deep ball

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was a recent guest on SiriusXM’s Movin’ the Chains.

SiriusXM NFL Radio made the rounds this summer for their annual NFL Training Camp Tour. Of course, it was conducted virtually this season, but nevertheless, Pittsburgh was a recent tour “stop.”

Former general manager and scout Pat Kirwan, along with his co-host and former Steelers quarterback Jim Miller, had Ben Roethlisberger on as a guest during Movin’ the Chains Steelers stop.

Roethlisberger’s newest weapon may just wind up being his surgically repaired elbow. But he also has new weapons in wide receivers Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and tight end Eric Ebron.

Though Johnson is in his second year, he was only on the receiving end of three passes from Big Ben before his season ended.

“With the offseason we’ve had, it’s been unique,” said Roethlisberger on Movin’ the Chains. “Typically, you get minicamps, OTAs. Not having those was difficult, too, which is why we organized some [practices] on the side to get together as much as we could to get to know each other.”

Roethlisberger said that building chemistry with Johnson is a process that can only be helped by playing games.

“[Diontae] and I don’t really have any chemistry,” Roethlisberger said. “We never really played together. So, there’s still a lot of learning and trust that has to come from both sides when it comes to his play on the field. He’s extremely talented, and I’m excited to get out there with him. We just don’t know each other well enough yet… Obviously, JuJu [Smith-Schuster] and I know each other and James Washington and Vance [McDonald], but there are still a lot of question marks out there.”

In the evenings after work, Ben watches practice footage, sends clips to his receivers, and talks with them about specific plays and what everyone can do to get better.

“We just try to get in as much work as we can knowing that this is going to be a work in progress as the season unfolds,” he said.

Kirwan noted that Roethlisberger took 76 deep shots in 2018 for an average of five per game, and asked the quarterback to assess where he is with that part of his game.

“Let’s go for seven a game then,” Roethlisberger joked. “The arm feels good. I guess we’ll really test it… That’s going to be key for us. We have guys that can stretch the field. I need to do my best not to force anything to certain guys or certain coverages. But when we have the deep shots, we have to take it, and same thing when we get underneath.”

Roethlisberger said that Smith-Schuster is one who can stretch the field and get underneath and create matchup. He pointed to the two 97-yard touchdowns JuJu scored — the first versus the Lions in 2017 and the second versus the Broncos in 2018.

“People talk about him not being a ‘speedster,’ but he has two touchdowns over at least 97 yards or something like that. That doesn’t happen too often unless you’ve got enough speed.”

Big Ben shares that the game plan is to move the receivers around, but only to a certain extent.

“Obviously, we don’t want guys to play slower because they’re thinking too much. You want guys to just play fast and be natural,” he said. “We’ll do our best to get guys into the positions to make plays for us.”

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Check out the first episode of Steelers QB Ben Rolisberger’s docuseries Bigger Than Ben

If you want to see what the last year has been like for Ben Roethlisberger, check this out.

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2019 was easily one of the most tumultuous seasons for the Pittsburgh Steelers in more than a decade. After believing they had rid themselves of distractions and could just focus on football, the unthinkable happened. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finally succumbs to a lingering elbow injury and is lost for the team’s final 14 games.

But Roethlisberger is back. His remarkable comeback is the stuff of legend and this team really feels like they have something special. If you want to see how they went from the lowest of lows to know when hope abounds, check out Roethlisberger’s docuseries chronicling his return from injury on the YouTube channel Rep 1 Football.

Within the first minute of the first episode of Bigger Than Ben, you get just a small taste of what Roethlisberger had to hear from mainstream sports media about him and his team and the sheer volume of vitriol aimed his way, that in hindsight was misguided. This is a series no NFL fan is going to want to miss.

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Steelers Week 10 gut reactions

The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win their fourth straight game.

It was ugly but the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to pull off their fourth straight win with a 17-12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The game was hard to watch with the two teams combining for 24 penalties, six turnovers and displaying poor offenses. That being said, here are my gut reactions.

I mentioned the high amount of penalties already, but the offense was absolutely horrid. I’m going to come out and say it. People that are saying Mason Rudolph’s development is similar to Ben Roethlisberger his rookie season are wrong. Rudolph was essentially given the whole 2019 season to prove to the fans, coaches, ownership and his peers that he was the Steelers quarterback of the future, and if anything, there are more questions now about his future than in Week 2. When Roethlisberger was a rookie, he entered his first game in Week 2 at the Ravens and including the playoffs, the Steelers rattled off 15 straight wins on their way to losing the AFC championship game.

Looking back at that season, Roethlisberger was more limited in his pass attempts. Rudolph had 38 attempts Sunday and seems to be limited in effectiveness and productivity. Roethlisberger was assisted by an effective running game, something Rudolph has not been lucky enough to experience. The Steelers averaged 1.6 yards per rush, and the team’s longest run was 8 yards. Rudolph and Roethlisberger are alike in that both have been bolstered by dominate defenses while they attempt to get their footing as an NFL quarterback. Their on-field performances far from parallel one another.

Now that I’ve lashed out at Rudolph’s poor performance, I have to say there’s plenty of blame to go around. The Steelers as a team have not been consistent receivers for Rudolph. Drops are too common. He doesn’t have a run game to set him up in third-and-short situations on a regular basis and just to top things off, if the Steelers manage to move the ball, they usually end up off-setting their production with offensive penalties.

No running game, no receivers, and too many penalties are not the ideal situation for a young quarterback to flourish in. It’s a frustrating situation, which is only emphasized every week because of the defense’s stellar play. When Minkah Fitzpatrick is the Steelers’ best offensive weapon and he’s on defense, changes need to be made.

As bad as the offense has been, the defense continues to impress. They won the turnover battle for the eighth straight game and limited an inconsistent Rams offense to three points. Week 10 was so difficult to pallet, partially because the Steelers offense let the Rams score nine points while the defense held them to three. The defense consistently made big plays, tallying four sacks, four takeaways, three fumbles by the opposing quarterback and a defensive touchdown.

Fitzpatrick has been clutch and showcased rare awareness and ball skills. T.J. Watt entered the game as the highest-graded edge rusher in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, one point above the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack. Watt tallied five tackles and two sacks against the Rams. Steve Nelson has been a shutdown corner across from Joe Haden, helping shut out Cooper Kupp on Sunday.

Just to top it off, defensive captain Cameron Heyward entered the day as the third-highest graded interior defensive lineman at PFF and was extremely disruptive. He had three tackles, a sack, two passes defended, and three of the Steelers’ nine quarterback hits. Even that impressive stat line doesn’t sum up just how dominant he was at the point of attack. With the Steelers winning four in a row, the NFL has to wonder just how good this defense truly is.

The Steelers leave the friendly confines of Heinz Field on a short week to play the Cleveland Browns on national TV Thursday night. The Browns got their third win of the year in Week 10 at home against a surging Buffalo Bills team. But their offensive line has been extremely shaky, which has forced Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield force the ball downfield under pressure. Mayfield is second in the NFL with 12 interceptions thrown. Don’t look now, but the Steelers are vying for an AFC wild-card spot.

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