2017 SCU Awards: Steelers MVP

by Eric Herrmann (SteelersGrind) on February 22, 2018

Steel City Underground presents the 2nd annual SCU Awards. Our panel of contributors all voted on various awards for the Steelers with the player getting the most votes being the winner. Each article will have the list of nominees with one of our contributors stating their case for why that player earned their vote and deserves the award.Comment and let us know if you agree or disagree with our winners and nominees.

Here it is, the big one, MVP.

The nominees…

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Ben Roethlisberger

I’m a person who is against MVP basically being a quarterback-only award, but Ben Roethlisberger truly earned the honor this season.There’s no denying Ben has had some up and down periods over the past few years, but the Ben we saw in the latter half of the season is the one we will all remember 10 years from now. That quarterback we saw was playing consistently at a hall of fame level, and even when the defense struggled and allowed the other team to stay in the game, Ben never waived and helped the team win multiple close games. There is no way this team would have went as far as it did with Ben Roethlisberger.

– Eric Herrmann

I had to pick Big Ben here mainly because of his leadership. He is the captain of this ship and when it drifts into stormy waters he takes the blame as no other. When things go well he credits the guys around him. But make no mistake, without our franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger at captain this is not a ship. It’s a luxury cruise with many reality stars, rappers, actors and kids looking for a cruise director for some fun.

– Terry Fletcher

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Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is above and beyond the MVP of the Steelers this season. I’m not sure anyone else could be relied on to make as many clutch plays, and when you’re also in the league MVP talk, as a wide receiver who has done what no other at his position has in NFL history, how can you not be the team MVP?

– Joe Kuzma

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Cam Heyward

Cameron Heyward was the anchor in the storm on defense, keeping the ship righted. His leadership was critical when the team experienced the loss of Ryan Shazier. His teammates applauded his efforts in keeping them focused on the game and rallying around each other while keeping Shazier in the backs of their mind. While the Steelers defense did not always perform at the level they were capable of, Heyward challenged his teammates to be better players and men while stepping up his own on-field performance. As flashy as the offense was this year, it’s hard to say the defense would have achieved the top spot in the league in sacks had Heyward not taken on the leadership role without being required to by coaching staff.

– Christina Rivers