The Pittsburgh Steelers were blessed to have future Hall of Fame quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger under center for 18 seasons. During his time in the Steel City, he won an Offensive Rookie of the Year award, was selected to six Pro Bowls, and helped guide Pittsburgh to three Super Bowls, winning two of them. He threw for 64,088 yards and 418 touchdowns. His former teammates sing his praises for his leadership and toughness. Now, one of his former teammates shares the exact moment he knew that Roethlisberger would be a legend.
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A young Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator, Bruce Arians stand next to one another during a team practice.
Ramon Foster, a former NFL offensive guard, played his entire 11 seasons in Pittsburgh protecting Roethlisberger. Now he co-hosts a podcast with reporter, Dejan Kovacevic that airs on DK Pittsburgh Sports. It's called The Ramon Foster Show. On a recent episode, he was discussing how tough Roethlisberger was and how he responded when the line broke down and a sack occurred.
"Sacks are a part of doing business. If he knows you tried and not just getting blown up. One of my biggest steps in my respect even more for seven [Ben Roethlisberger's number] was the nose break situation. He never mentioned it."
Foster is referring to what Roethlisberger has called the hardest hit of his career and one of his most painful injuries. That is really saying something considering Roethlisberger injured just about every part of his body during his time on the gridiron.
It is no surprise that the injury came during a Baltimore Ravens game. The Steelers-Ravens rivalry is one of the fiercest in football and it wasn't any different in 2010 when this happened. It was late in the season and the teams were fighting to clinch the AFC North. Ravens defender, Haloti Ngata's hand came up and popped him right in the nose during a tackle. Roethlisberger recently shared the story on his own podcast, Footbahlin' With Ben Roethlisberger.
"Haloti Ngata's hand came right through here (gestures to his face) and busted my nose. I remember it was like second down and he busted my nose, I had blood coming down. It hurt, but it's not excruciating. But I'm like 'gosh it kinda hurts.' I came off the field and I was like, 'doc, is my nose broke?'" Roethlisberger shared.
He said that at halftime he went to see team physician, Dr. James Bradley and looked in the mirror. He was shocked to see that his nose was pancaked sideways on his face. He said they pushed it back in place and he went out to play the second half.
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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got his nose broken by Baltimore Ravens Haloti Ngata.
Roethlisberger did not let the injury slow him down. If anything, it added fuel to the inferno of hate for the Ravens, and the Steelers won the game 13-10. It was fittingly enough that it was the deciding factor in who won the division as well since it gave the Steelers the tiebreaker over the Ravens.
The injury to his nose was so bad that the doctor supposedly said the bones inside looked like cornflakes. Seeing Roethlisberger work through that kind of injury and not blame his offensive line for the breakdown gave the team a whole new level of respect for him. Foster said he was good at communicating and letting them know what he needed and they responded to that relationship.
"It'll be times in a game where it's close and emotions are high and he'd be like, 'fellas, I need you to give me time. I got you but I need you guys up front to give me time.' And you know what happened more times than not? When we gave him that little bit of time he'd look at us and say, 'I told you guys, I knew you could do it.'"
Roethlisberger left behind big shoes to fill for his replacement, the young Kenny Pickett. Pickett, who is in his second year as quarterback, is a different kind of player than Roethlisberger which probably helps to quell some of the comparisons. However, that hasn't lessened the pressure or expectations placed on him by fans.
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All time in his career, Roethlisberger was 17-10 against the Ravens. He completed 598 passes for 6,643 yards and 43 touchdowns. His overall quarterback rating against Baltimore was 85.9. So far, Pickett has only played the Ravens three times and stands at 2-1. However, he was knocked out with a concussion in the loss and wasn't really responsible for the defeat; he had just started the game. He has completed 33 passes for 392 yards and two touchdowns against Baltimore. His overall passer rating against them is 86.3.
Joe Sargent / Getty Images
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The Steelers played the Ravens last during Week 5 and won 17-10. It wasn't a pretty win, but as Head Coach, Mike Tomlin likes to say, "we aren't apologizing for winning." While the Steelers looked better than they did in Week 4 when they got demolished by the Houston Texans, they still needed help. That help came in the form of eight Baltimore drops, two fourth-quarter turnovers and a remarkable blocked punt. Such a hard-fought game surely will only add to the Ravens desire to get revenge when they see the Steelers again.
Do you remember when Roethlisberger broke his nose? Were you shocked he came back out and played? Were you expecting for that to be the play that helped ratchet up the respect for Roethlisberger from his linemen? What is your favorite Steelers-Ravens rivalry moment? Tell us what you think! Click to comment below.
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