End of an Era: Legendary Steelers QB Big Ben walks away from the game
By: Drakar Harvell
A remarkable career comes to an end for Pittsburgh Steelers legendary quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a.k.a “Big Ben” to the Pittsburgh faithful and around the entire NFL. The beginning of Ben’s career started with a 13-0 regular season record in which he led the 15-1 Steelers to the AFC Championship.
Ben was named the 2004 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. The success continued the next season as he became the youngest quarterback to ever win a Super Bowl at 23 years old. His style of play was very unique as he would shrug off pass rushers to extend plays and find his open receivers. Ben would sometimes be criticized for this type of play because he would take a lot sacks or either hold the ball too long resulting into bad results. Known for playing outside the pocket in what he liked to call it “backyard football.”
Roethlisberger grew up idolizing John Elway and was often compared to him, wearing number 7 in his honor. Ben success continued as earned his first Pro Bowl selection in 2007 under new head coach Mike Tomlin. In 2008, he led the Steelers to their 6th Super Bowl Championship in franchise history with the help of the #1 defense, but it was Ben who brought the trophy home as he connected with Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes for the game winning touchdown with 35 seconds remaining. Ben’s overall performance was extremely better than his first Super Bowl.
He finished the game 21 of 30 for 256 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. His passer rating was 93.2, in which he finished his first super bowl with a passer rating of 22.6. Ben set numerous records during his illustrious career. He finishes his career 5th all-time in passing yards with 64,088, 8th in passing touchdowns with 418, and 7th in highest passer rating with 93.5. He is a 2x Super Bowl Champion, a 6x Pro Bowler, and 2x NFL passing leader (2014, 2018).
His career record is 165-81-1, which includes a 13-10 playoff record. Ben will go down as one of the greatest QBs in NFL history and by far the best QB in Pittsburgh Steelers franchise history. The next time we will see Big Ben; he will take his throne amongst the greats in Canton.
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