Ben Roethlisberger goes out on tough note vs. Chiefs
On Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 42-21 to the Kansas City Chiefs, finishing off a great career for Ben Roethlisberger.
It’s over. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Ben Roethlisberger.
At Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 42-21, knocking them out of the postseason in the AFC Wild Card round. While the story for this season is Kansas City moving on in its quest for a third straight Super Bowl appearance, the larger picture points to Roethlisberger.
While the future Hall of Fame quarterback hasn’t officially announced his retirement, that appears to be a foregone conclusion. In his final game, Roethlisberger threw for 215 yards (4.9 YPA) and two touchdowns.
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In the postgame, All-Pro defensive lineman Cam Heyward talked about Roethlisberger over the years, per ESPN:
“No. 7, man, the way he’s battled, the way he’s always given us a chance, when you talk about having toughness as a quarterback, when you talk about a guy who is going to give you everything he’s got, you can’t ask for more than that. Ever since I got here … we had a guy who gave us a chance, when we started a season you said that’s a Super Bowl-winning quarterback. There’s not a lot of quarterbacks who can do what he does.”
For Roethlisberger, it’s the end of an amazing ride. In an age where most players suit up for a litany of organizations, Roethlisberger spent 18 years with the Steelers, winning two Super Bowls in Pittsburgh while appearing in three. All told, he threw for 64,088 yards with 418 touchdowns against 211 interceptions, earning six Pro Bowl honors despite being in a conference that has been populated with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, Patrick Mahomes and others throughout his career.
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Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers attack replacing their legend. Pittsburgh has backup quarterback Mason Rudolph, but he’s not a long-term fix. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert could opt for using draft capital on another signal-caller, but the upcoming rookie class doesn’t appear loaded at the position.
For now, though, a moment to reflect on one of the greatest careers in NFL history. While it ends on a sour note — it almost always does — Roethlisberger walkaway having accomplished most everything an NFL player ever could.
