The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He was the third quarterback selected behind Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. When he got to camp, he was third on the depth chart behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch. An injury in camp slid Roethlisberger into the backup role where he remained until Maddox suffered a severe elbow injury in just the second game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens.
(George Bridges / Getty Images)
Ben Roethlisberger (right) replaced Tommy Maddox as the Steelers’ starting quarterback after Maddox suffered an elbow injury two games into the 2004 season.
Roethlisberger went on a magical run going 13-0 until sitting out the season finale against the Buffalo Bills in the final week of the season. The Steelers beat the New York Jets in the Divisional Round and the rookie phenom’s undefeated run ended against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Roethlisberger.
The next season was not smooth sailing. The team sank to 7-5 after losing to the eventual AFC North division champion Cincinnati Bengals and needed a four-game winning streak just to become an AFC Wild Card team. The Steelers and Roethlisberger turned an early deficit into a 31-17 win in Cincinnati in the Wild Card round and then upset the heavily favored one-seed in the Indianapolis Colts. The victories set up a visit to the Denver Broncos for the AFC Championship game.
steelers.com
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger saves the 21-18 victory against the Colts with a great tackle.
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger And Jerome Bettis Have An Unbreakable Bond That Has Survived Test Of Time
The Steelers and Broncos had met five times in the playoffs at that point and Pittsburgh was 2-3. The memories of the 1997 championship game where Bill Romanowski taunted Kordell Stewart were still fresh. The odds were stacked against the six-seed sweeping through the AFC playoffs, but Roethlisberger led the Steelers into Denver intent on fulfilling a promise to Jerome Bettis to get him to Super Bowl XL.
The opening drive for the Broncos stalled near midfield and they were forced to punt. The Steelers took over at the nine-yard line and methodically drove the ball into field goal range for Jeff Reed. They seized a 3-0 lead after eating up for over six minutes. When the Steelers kicked the ball back to Denver, Jake Plummer made the first of four critical turnovers. Joey Porter sacked Plummer and forced a fumble that was recovered by Casey Hampton at the Denver 39-yard line.
AP Photo
Steelers' Cedrick Wilson beats Champ Bailey to put Pittsburgh up 10-0 in the AFC Championship game.
Five plays later, Roethlisberger found Cedrick Wilson Sr. for the first of what would be two touchdown passes in the game. The Steelers jumped out 10-0 and didn’t look back from there. After a Denver field goal by Jason Elam, Pittsburgh went on a 15-play touchdown drive that culminated in a short touchdown run by Bettis with two minutes left in the half and a 17-3 lead.
Pittsburgh was due to get the second-half kickoff, so Mike Shanahan decided to let Plummer try to move the Broncos in position to score. It was a disastrous decision as the Denver signal-caller threw his first pass directly to Ike Taylor. Bill Cowher called for back-to-back running plays that saw Willie Parker gain a total of 24 yards with still a minute to go in the half. Cowher tapped Bettis to run again, but after an illegal formation penalty with just :15 seconds to go and one timeout, the coach called on his quarterback.
USATSI
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger celebrates a touchdown run with Hines Ward in Denver.
Roethlisberger scrambled to his left and found Hines Ward for a 24-3 lead. Roethlisberger’s excited double gun celebration led to an undisclosed fine from the NFL, but sealed the Broncos’ fate. Denver and Pittsburgh would trade scores in the second half, but the hole Denver had dug was just too deep to climb out of against the Steelers' defense. The final turnover by Plummer led to a Roethlisberger six-yard scamper to punctuate a 34-17 victory in Denver.
The Steelers quarterback was brilliant in the AFC Championship game posting a 124.9 rating. He threw for 275 yards and added three touchdowns total. He fulfilled his promise to Bettis and ran his AFC playoff record to 4-1. It was Roethlisberger’s first encounter with adversity in the NFL and he responded with what would ultimately be an eight-game winning streak and a Lombardi Trophy.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sport
Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Jerome Bettis celebrate after winning Super Bowl XL.
You can relive Roethlisberger’s heroics and the entire game on YouTube here. The Broncos game catapulted the Steelers to what would be the first of three Super Bowl appearances in five seasons. It would also establish Roethlisberger’s legacy as a force to be reckoned with and alert the league that the AFC was not Tom Brady and Peyton Manning’s playground.
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Do you agree that this game established Roethlisberger’s winning pedigree? Please comment below, or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
#SteelerNation
