So, Ben Roethlisberger has finally hung up his cleats. We have enjoyed eighteen years of Big Ben and that is a long time for any athlete to compete at the highest level.
This is not the first time the Steelers have enjoyed having a quality quarterback and the success it brings. After many years as the ‘Same Old Steelers’ and only one previous visit to the playoffs, the franchise began to blossom when they hired Chuck Noll in 1969 as their head coach. The selection of quarterback Terry Bradshaw followed and eventually led to four Super Bowls victories in six years.
Having a quarterback as excellent as Bradshaw was pivotal to the Steelers’ success as they dominated the seventies. With the retirement of Bradshaw and the great players around him, the Steelers slipped into the doldrums.
Although Coach Noll had built his championship team through the draft, he wasn’t so successful in the eighties. Replacing such high-caliber players proved a difficult task. Finding a quarterback to take them back to the Super Bowl took over a decade and a change at head coach.
Quarterbacks Cliff Stoudt, Todd Blackledge, Steve Bono, and Mark Malone (#1 draft pick in 1980) were followed by a brash Bubby Brister who declared to the local sports reporters, “I’m the man. Write it down.” After an absence of four years, Brister did take the Steelers back to the playoffs where they lost the divisional game by a point.
1990 NFL Draft
In the 1990 draft, Pittsburgh surprised everyone when they took Neil O’Donnell in the third round. Chuck Noll acknowledged he liked O’Donnell’s accuracy. Noll also hired Joe Walton as his offensive coordinator. Although Brister found Walton’s playbook frustrating, he remained the starter and guided the team to another 9-7 record, but this time they missed the playoffs.
The following year, the quarterback battle was played out in full with Brister beginning and finishing the season at the helm. In between, O’Donnell started eight games, losing six of them as the Steelers finished 7-9.
The Steelers had become lifeless with no sense of direction forcing their President Dan Rooney to make the changes that were required. In 1992, Coach Noll was edged towards retirement, and his replacement Bill Cowher brought in Ron Erhardt to replace Walton.
O’Donnell won the starting job during the preseason and brought four successful seasons with playoff appearances to Pittsburgh that climaxed with their fifth appearance in a Super Bowl. After the loss to the Cowboys, O’Donnell signed with the New York Jets, and the Steelers were once again searching for a quarterback.
1995 NFL Draft
In the 1995 draft, they had used their second-round pick on Kordell Stewart and a year later he found himself competing against 12-year veteran Mike Tomczak to lead the Steelers.
Tomczak won the job in the first year and again took them to the playoffs. Stewart took over for the next six years and led the team to two AFC Championship games which they lost.
In Pittsburgh, the quarterback controversy is always played out as a drama and in 2002 it was at its most dramatic. After losing their first two games with Stewart at the helm, the Steelers were facing the abyss of going 0-3 with a defeat in Heinz Field at the hands of the Cleveland Browns.
Coach Cowher introduced former XFL MVP Tommy Maddox into the game. With time running out, he was the quarterback more comfortable in the no-huddle offense that was now needed. Maddox took just two minutes to go 77 yards and throw the touchdown pass to tie the game and take it into overtime.
With the Terrible Towels gyrating in the sunshine, the Steelers kicked a field goal to win the game. The heated debate in Pittsburgh was again who would become the starter. It was Maddox who would lead the Steelers to the playoffs where they would lose the divisional game. The following year they slumped to 6-10 and it was again time for Dan Rooney to become involved.
With The Eleventh Pick of the 2004 Draft...
Only for the second time in twenty-three years would the Steelers look to take a quarterback in the first round of the 2004 draft. It was a good year for quarterbacks with Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers turning to the pro ranks.
Manning and Rivers went early, but Ben was still there when the Steelers picked at eleven. Having passed on Hall of Famer Dan Marino in 1983, Dan Rooney said he couldn’t bear the thought of missing out on another great quarterback.
Mr. Rooney got his man and Steeler Nation has since enjoyed eighteen entertaining years laced with a little controversy. But, throughout those years, there was no debate about who would turn out each week to start for the Steelers when Roethlisberger was available to play.
His legacy began in his rookie season. The third game saw Maddox injured. With no professional game experience, Roethlisberger entered the hostile cauldron that is the home of the Ravens. He threw two touchdown passes with two interceptions as the Steelers were defeated.
His poise and talent saw him start for the rest of the season. Steeler Nation enjoyed fourteen straight wins as he led the team into the playoffs. They were beaten in the AFC Championship game, but the experience would equip them for the following season’s exploits. Roethlisberger’s accomplishments earned him the Offensive Rookie of the Year honor.
Big Ben Super Bowls
Running back Jerome Bettis had planned to retire at the end of the season, but Roethlisberger convinced him to stay on for one final year. With the Super Bowl being held in Detroit, Roethlisberger’s encouragement, and the lure of playing in his hometown was too much. Bettis stayed on for one last chance to add a ring to his already impressive résumé.
Pittsburgh finished the 2005 season with the same record as Cincinnati, but the Bengals earned the division title on the tiebreaker. The Steelers went into the playoffs as the lowest seed and played on the road where they won all three games to travel to Super Bowl XL.
In the divisional game against the Colts, Bettis fumbled. Colts’ Nick Harper picked up the loose ball and was headed towards the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Roethlisberger showed his prowess with a shoestring tackle of Harper near midfield and the Colts had to be content with a field goal attempt that failed.
After a wait of nearly a quarter of a century, the Steelers were back seeking ‘One for the Thumb.’ Roethlisberger didn’t play that well in the game, but the Steelers brought their fifth Lombardi back to Pittsburgh and set a record by winning those road games.
Three years later, the Steelers were back in the Super Bowl where they faced the Arizona Cardinals. In a close contest, the Steelers fell behind in the fourth quarter. With less than three minutes remaining, Roethlisberger orchestrated a drive of 78 yards that finished with an incredible pass to Santonio Holmes in the corner of the end zone.
Steeler Nation held its breath waiting for the replay officials to confirm the score, but when the referee arms reached high into the night sky to signal a touchdown, the stadium erupted. It was the night that Roethlisberger’s star shone the brightest. He had won the Steelers’ sixth Lombardi.
Two years later the Steelers’ return to the championship game came up short when they lost to the Packers. Pittsburgh fell eighteen points behind. Although Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes, he failed to close the gap this time and they lost 31-25.
Following Super Bowl XLV, Roethlisberger led the team to post-season football a further six times including one AFC Championship game. As time caught up with him and challenges emerged in the locker room with disgruntled teammates, sadly there were no more Super Bowl games for Steeler Nation to savor.
He has retired after breaking all the Steelers’ quarterback records and setting NFL ones. The one that I treasure the most because I was at both games, is his back-to-back six touchdowns games in 2014.
Ben Roethlisberger's Highlights
Roethlisberger has thrown four touchdown passes of 90 yards or longer in the regular season, which is the most such touchdown passes in NFL history.
Roethlisberger is one of only five quarterbacks in NFL history to register 160 regular-season wins as a starter.
Roethlisberger became the first player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards or more in three regular-season games. He threw for 522 yards in a 51-34 win over Indianapolis in Week 8 of 2014, 506 yards in a 39-38 win over Baltimore in Week 14 of 2017, and 503 yards in a 37-36 win over Green Bay in Week 15 of 2009.
Roethlisberger posted a perfect passer rating of 158.3 or better in four regular-season games (minimum 10 attempts/game), which is a franchise record and tied for the most in NFL history.
Roethlisberger registered nine career TD passes of 80 yards or longer, which is tied with Brett Favre for the most in NFL history
He was a six-time Pro Bowl selection (2007, 2011, 2014-17).
Eighteen times he was honored as the AFC Offensive Player of the Week.
The Steelers had to wait twenty-six years between their fourth and fifth Super Bowl victories. I am not so sure that Steeler Nation will tolerate a wait as long again, but to find another Ben Roethlisberger will be a huge task.
The last words are left to Coach Noll. When asked about Ben Roethlisberger from an athletic standpoint Coach Noll acknowledged, “There’s no question he’s got the ability and the talent.”
Roethlisberger’s eighteen years in the NFL endorsed it.
This article was written by Gordon Dedman of “Steelers Nation UK.” If you are a fan of football, and even more so the Pittsburgh Steelers, you must check out his work. You can find a ton of history articles on the site.
You can also see the UK version of The Terrible Towel On Tour! It’s pretty impressive how dedicated Gordon and his UK Steeler Nation are to the team. You’ll also find the dedication when you see he’s been to Super Bowl XXX, XL & XLIII.
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