What a night it was at Heinz Field. What was more than likely Ben Roethlisberger’s last home game with the Pittsburgh Steelers, ended up being a night that Ben and the fans will remember forever. 18 years of winning football is what 7 brought to the city of Pittsburgh. 2 Super Bowls (2005, 2008), 6 Pro Bowls, over 64,000 passing yards, 416 TDs (and counting…), and 164 wins (and counting…) is what Ben’s Hall of Fame career has consisted of. In his 18 years with the Steelers, Ben had 0 losing seasons…remarkable.
No player has spent more years with a team than Ben has with the Steelers. He has been with the Steelers organization dating all the way back to when they drafted him in 2004. From the first start he made till now, Pittsburgh has welcomed him with open arms. What made Ben unique is that it was never about him as being the face of the franchise or NFL. He cared about the guys he was blessed to play with such as Troy Polamalu, Jerome Bettis, James Harrison, Ryan Clark, Willie Parker, James Farrior, Heath Miller, Ike Taylor, Brett Kiesel, Hines Ward, Maurkice Pouncey, Alan Faneca, Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, and the list goes on.
Ben never was the QB that made it look pretty and easy. He was a gunslinger who threw guys off of him before chucking it 50 yards downfield. It became part of who he was as a QB…scrambling around and essentially playing backyard football. Watch him in this clip…it’s been a while since we’ve seen him move around like this but wow was he fun to watch earlier in his career…
If there’s one video that sums up Ben’s playing style throughout his career, it’s this one without a doubt.
So, what’s next for 7? Well, in 5 years he’ll be getting a call to Canton, Ohio where he’ll be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And you best believe it will be a sea of black and gold filling up the crowd.
Thank you for all of the memories Ben…I’ll never forget the joy you brought to the city of Pittsburgh!
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