My favorite memories of Ben Roethlisberger
With a number of shout-outs, best of’s, and other kudos being sent at the behest of Pittsburgh Steelers longtime franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger announcing his retirement on Thursday, I thought it would be fitting to switch gears from the stuff you may read everywhere else, and read my personal favorite moments from his legendary career.
I don’t want this to come off as self-gratifying, though one moment below might! Rather, if you’ve ever had the opportunity to chat with former players, particularly ones you’ve looked up to, you often find yourself sharing moments that you both shared together.
Therefore, I felt that this fits into the latter category, rather than a “greatest hits” list compendium of Big Ben’s career. (Which you can certainly read elsewhere!)
I hope you enjoy visiting my personal walk down memory lane, and look forward to hearing about some of your own.
@ Miami Dolphins – September 26, 2004
And thus the legend of Ben Roethlisberger began, as Big Ben’s first-ever career start was surrounded by enough turmoil to make any quarterback nervous, let alone a first-timer.
For those who recall, the game was delayed 7.5 hours to operate around Hurricane Jeanne. The field was sloppy, and it rained, or poured, for the entirety of it.
Neither team could really move the ball, and Roethlisberger’s first throw was an interception. (By the senior Patrick Surtain, actually!)
I remember waiting, and then watching this game, on a small tube TV combo with a VCR in my old upstairs apartment. Ben became a warrior that day, despite only completing 12 of his 22 passes. The images of him and the Steelers slogging through tropical storm weather is never easily forgotten. In fact, the stained grayish hue of the typically bright white Dolphins uniforms due to the conditions became a theme for a line of Reebok “storm” jerseys released later – and my second Ben Roethlisberger jersey purchase…
The first Roethlisberger jersey I owned was a white away one. For fans who remember this, Big Ben wasn’t supposed to play his rookie season. However, injuries to Charlie Batch moved him up to being Tommy Maddox‘ backup, and when Maddox went down, in came the rookie.
That rookie caught fire, and Reebok couldn’t print jerseys fast enough to meet demand. Some of those jerseys didn’t even have the full stripes printed all the way around the fabric (like the one above) and were “half-printed”.
Scoring one that season, as Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 15-1 record, was almost impossible and the uniform quickly became one of the hottest items on eBay that season.
Super Bowl XLIII vs. Arizona Cardinals – February 1, 2009
Where were you when Roethlisberger connected with the infamous throw to Santonio Holmes?
I was sitting in my basement home theater room, with three other Browns fans, who were overly confident that the game was over on the previous Cardinals scoring drive led by Kurt Warner.
(Yes, the tears of Browns fans have always been tasty… and a bit salty too!)
Big Ben’s Return, Cleveland Browns – October 17, 2010
This game checks a lot of boxes for me…
The 2010 season started with Ben Roethlisberger’s six-game suspension being reduced to four. That meant the Steelers franchise quarterback would return following a Week 5 bye week, for a Week 6 Heinz Field encounter with the Cleveland Browns.
Without Roethlisberger, the Steelers shot out to a 3-1 record in their first four games. Steelers fans were anxious to see how Ben would play in his return, as was I.
For those who don’t listen to the SCU Podcast and aren’t aware, my wife is a Browns fan. (Long story!) My birthday, being less than two weeks after this game, was an early birthday present: and would be my first trip to Heinz Field to see a game ever.
The Steelers continued to wear their 75th anniversary throwback jerseys into 2010, and sported them against their AFC North rivals in this game. My wife had already purchased one of these jerseys for me prior, and I got to wear it while Ben and the boys did.
As for the game itself, Roethlisberger would show no signs of rust, throwing three touchdown passes en route to a decisive 28-10 victory.
Colts and Ravens games, 2014
In 2013, the Steelers started their season 0-4, and would miss the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
In 2014, fans were on edge to see if the team, in its third year with Todd Haley as offensive coordinator, would finally turn things around.
An opening week game (actually the last opener at Heinz Field since) nearly saw the Browns comeback from a 27-3 Steelers lead. Pittsburgh would drop an ugly home loss to Tampa Bay (Mike Glennon at QB) and then squeaking by the Jaguars 17-9 in Jacksonville before getting embarrassed by the Browns in Cleveland 31-10. They’d defeat the Houston Texans a week later following three touchdowns in the last minute and a half of the second quarter.
That led to major speculation about the team’s prospects going forward. However, Ben Roethlisberger would put those concerns to rest with two back-to-back six-touchdown games.
The first was against the 5-2 Indianapolis Colts. Andrew Luck went on a tear this season, with a career single season high 40 touchdown passes. He would meet his match against the 4-3 Steelers, as Roethlisberger threw for 522 yards and 6 TDs.
One week later, the Steelers would host the 5-3 Baltimore Ravens, as Roethlisberger put up a repeat performance, throwing for 340 yards and matching his 6 TD passes a week earlier in a 43-23 victory.
I remember being at both games, and vividly recalling the skepticism in the air pregame. That would quickly dissipate with each touchdown strike and the icing on the cake was smashing the Ravens at home with the repeat six-touchdown showing.
Big Ben’s fake snap TD pass, Dallas Cowboys, 2016
The Dallas Cowboys came to town during Week 10 of the 2016 regular season, and brought what felt like their entire town with them. Steelers fans sold their tickets for premiums, creating an environment seldom seen in Heinz Field, complete with opposing fans creating crowd noise.
It was one of the most surreal home games I’ve ever been at. It’s also one of the most expensive regular season game tickets I’ve ever purchased too, as I wasn’t a season ticket holder at the time!
In a game that saw eight lead changes, the Steelers were in a dogfight down to the last minute when Ben Roethlisberger and the offense took over with just under two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and down by five points.
As Ben would often do, he led the Steelers down the field and within five plays, they were back on the board and up by a point, following one of the most incredible connections he and Antonio Brown ever had for a touchdown.
This play came straight out of a 1994 game between the Dolphins and Jets, where Dan Marino motioned to spike the football (and stop the clock) but had other ideas. (You can watch it here.)
It’s still a shame that the Steelers would end up losing this game against the Cowboys, as Ezekiel Elliott ran through them with only 42 seconds remaining, for the game-winning touchdown.
Ben Roethlisberger’s Heinz Field Farewell
To be honest, I could probably pick so many other memories which span over an 18-year career: “Jesse Caught It”, “The Immaculate Extension”, or any number of playoff games.
However, I wanted to keep this list short and personal, so there’s one game that will truly standout many years later: Roethlisberger’s final game at Heinz Field.
With the cat out of the bag on this potentially being Big Ben’s final home game, the stage was set for a proper send off on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, against – you guessed it – the Cleveland Browns.
The Browns blemished the Steelers otherwise stellar reputation against them a season earlier, in what was an ugly home playoff loss.
That embarrassment may have been extra motivation to make sure Roethlisberger left with a big win in his last Heinz Field appearance.
The atmosphere was over the top. I’m not sure I’ve ever been at a game where no one sat the entire game, as everyone was on pins and needles. (Don’t forget, the Steelers offense had not been good all season long.)
The first quarter saw both teams knotted 0-0. The Steelers would go up 13-0 and eventually start to pull away. Big Ben didn’t have a major statistical game, but he didn’t have to as the Steelers defense crushed Baker Mayfield to the tune of nine sacks and two picks. One specific series, following the playing of Styx’ Renegade, saw the Browns offense go backward play after play, that it started a unified “Cleveland sucks!” chant that could be heard over everything on live TV.
“Thank you Ben!” chants replaced those shortly thereafter, as rookie RB Najee Harris capped off his season-high 188 rushing yards with a 37-yard dart for a touchdown which sealed Pittsburgh’s 26-14 win.
