Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers were a dominant AFC force for almost his entire career. The Steelers are often overlooked because of the unprecedented success of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots. Roethlisberger never got the credit as a top quarterback in the AFC because of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and later in his career the sublime Patrick Mahomes. Thankfully, Brady unretired earlier this year so Roethlisberger is not overshadowed when he goes into the Hall of Fame.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers motions from the line of scrimmage against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 01, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Todd Olszewski/Getty Images)
Tuesday on the PM Team w/Poni & Mueller, Andrew Fillipponi proposed that the national media was engaging in a huge double standard by praising Brady for late-game heroics in the comeback win over the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football. Roethlisberger had seven fourth-quarter comebacks last season and willed the Steelers to the playoffs.
“They talk about the magic of Tom Brady last night,” Fillipponi ranted. “Their (Tampa Bay) offense stinks. He puts together one drive late against the Rams and two against the Saints and I gotta hear about the magic of Tom Brady. Where was the magic of Big Ben last year? No, it was the Steelers offense was bad and Big Ben is shot and needs to be taken out to pasture, he needs to be taken out like Old Yeller, instead of Ben finds a way to get it done.”
The hyperbolic host does have a point, and the Steelers paid a heavy price early in 2022 for forcing the aging quarterback into retirement. He might not have accepted a bridge role to give way to Kenny Pickett during the season but the Pitt Panther rookie who is genuinely liked by Roethlisberger would have taught him a lot more about how to play quarterback than Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky is a superior teammate who has helped Pickett, but it is unlikely he is going to win Super Bowls and go to the Hall of Fame.
“There was no Ben on a pedestal last year,” Fillipponi continued. “There is after every one of these games with Brady. A testament to his all-time greatness. The seven Super Bowls are that, not what he is doing in Tampa Bay right now. The conversation should be, boy they suck. Why can’t they do in the first fifty-eight minutes of the game what they do in the last two minutes. It’s a ridiculous double standard. People don’t like Ben.”
The Ravens' Haloti Ngata, not pictured, broke Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's nose, but Pittsburgh pulled out a 13-10 victory at M&T Bank Stadium on Dec. 5, 2010. (Photo Credit: McClatchy-Tribune photo)
Roethlisberger is third all-time in fourth-quarter comebacks in NFL history. He has 41 of these victories and only Peyton Manning and Brady have more with 43 and 44. Brady has 44 comebacks in 375 career starts in the regular season and playoffs or 11.7% of his total starts. Manning had 43 comebacks in 292 career starts in the regular season and playoffs 14.7% of his total starts. Roethlisberger had 41 comebacks in 270 career starts in the regular season and playoffs 15.1% of his total starts. No other NFL quarterback in history has 40 come-from-behind victories.
Great quarterbacks are at their best when the game is on the line and Roethlisberger tried to model his game after his hero John Elway. Another number seven who was a shell of his physical self in his last two seasons. He had just enough in the tank to make plays when Terrell Davis left the offense in a position to pass. It didn’t happen often those last two seasons, but Elway’s play is not diminished because he limped off into the sunset with back-to-back Super Bowl championships.
PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 15: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates the game-winning touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth quarter of the AFC Divisional Playoff Game at Heinz Field on January 15, 2011, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Roethlisberger was the best at fourth quarterback comebacks in NFL history from a percentage standpoint. He had ten more than Elway and by percentage was nearly three percent ahead of the man who manufactured ‘the drive’. Roethlisberger led a legendary touchdown drive to win Super Bowl XLIII where he was curiously denied the Super Bowl MVP. Arguably, it may be the best individual drive in Super Bowl history to come from behind. During his career, if he got the ball with time left in a one-score game it was almost automatic.
The Steelers played a lot of close games compared to Brady’s Patriots and Manning’s Colts. They also faced a more daunting gauntlet in the AFC North than his contemporaries did in the AFC East and South, which are arguably the worst divisions of the 21st century. Roethlisberger is destined to hold all the records for the Pittsburgh Steelers and generate very little respect nationally. People didn’t like Ben, but they sure didn’t want to see him with the ball in a one-score game, even at the end.
What do you think Steeler Nation? Does Fillipponi have a point, was Roethlisberger disrespected last season nationally despite dragging the Steelers to the playoffs? Comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
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