Is Big Ben the Steelers weakest link against the Colts?
It’s an odd time for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. I’m sure he feels just fine, but it’s instead an odd time for those who are critical of the NFL and it’s teams and players. Big Ben has been the target of a fair amount of criticism, especially after an offseason where he made comments that hinted at an early retirement. At odds with the media who took those comments and ran with them, Ben has further stoked those flames by making comments as to whether or not “he still got it”.
“It” being the ability to be the proverbial gunslinger Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin always refers to.
Heading into Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, fans and critics alike are hinting if Roethlisberger doesn’t have an All-Pro performance, maybe it might be time to consider retirement.
As outlandish as that sounds, that statement makes sense on paper. The Colts have a horrendous defense which is 31st in the league when it comes to giving up passing yards. Add to the equation that they will be without star rookie safety Malik Hooker and two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Vontae Davis, and you can see why I selected Big Ben as this week’s weakest link.
The blood is in the water, and the sharks should be circling. Those sharks are named Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and JuJu Smith-Schuster, receivers who are all capable of having big games, should their quarterback show up in a big way. Yet, that’s been an issue this season, as timing appears to be off with the Steelers signal caller. He has missed wide-open receivers, overthrown or underthrown others he’s found and has nearly as many interceptions as he does touchdowns.
Steelers quarterbacks coach Randy Fichtner talked about Roethlisberger on Monday, and whether or not he is in decline:
I still feel the accuracy. I still see the ball coming out. [At practice] there may be a moment or two when he may throw it like a 36-year old and maybe a 36-year old has a moment where the ball doesn’t come out perfect. But we are talking about perfect, not good enough, and special because generally that is what he is.
It’s been an uncharacteristic 2017 season for Roethlisberger, but the reason for optimism this Sunday exists not only because the Colts defense has played poorly this season, but because they’ve played poorly against the Steelers in the last few years:
.@_BigBen7 has completed 78 of 108 for 1,107 receiving yards with 13 TDs vs. 0 INTs in his last three games against Indy.
— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) November 8, 2017
Ben has put up some incredible numbers against the Colts in his last three games against them. In 2014 he dropped 522 yards and six touchdowns on Indy, en route to a near-perfect 150.6 quarterback rating. In 2015, he threw for 364 yards and four touchdowns for a 126.4 rating and last season, he found Antonio Brown in the end zone three times while attempting only twenty passes for 221 yards and a 146 rating.
Along with an extra week of rest to gear up for this game, the onus is now on Ben to lead this team to their seventh Lombardi trophy. On Wednesday, Roethlisberger discussed getting the offense to their anticipated goal of being a scoring juggernaut:
Well, I hope so. It’s always been Todd [Haley’s] goal. His first goal that he set since the beginning of the seasons is to get 30 points. That’s our goal offensively.
We haven’t been able to do that yet. So, we’d like to do what we can and put as any points as we can on the board because that takes pressure off of our defense. We love the way they are playing and we love to watch it but it’s time to do our part now.
That part starts with the leader and captain of the offense, Ben Roethlisberger. Otherwise, without a strong game, the Steelers could find themselves in a similar territory of the overtime loss in Chicago. With momentum and a strong case to be the top seed in the AFC, Big Ben is this week’s weakest link. The team goes as he goes, and they need to go into Indianapolis, and leave, victorious.
