Big Ben’s best game of 2017 sign of more to come?
Nearly one week ago, everyone was ready to throw their Terrible Towels in on Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben was struggling on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, a team in which he dominated in their previous three encounters.
Roethlisberger turned it around in the fourth quarter of that game and then parlayed the momentum into a huge 299-yard, four touchdown passing performance on Thursday Night Football against the Titans.
That begs the question: is Ben’s best game of 2017 an indication of bigger and better things on the horizon?
I believe so, but not in the way others have seen it thus far. Many are quick to point out that Roethlisberger has traditionally been a better player at home versus on the road, yet, his 2017 stats don’t show any difference. With the Steelers playing a majority of their games away from Heinz Field through this part of the season, Roethlisberger’s numbers nearly mirror his home ones. Part of that is due to one of the worst games of his career against the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he threw five interceptions: Roethlisberger hasn’t thrown a pick in any of his other three home appearances this season.
He’s thrown all of five interceptions in road games this year as well. While having a couple of more games played on the road (2) Big Ben has the same amount of touchdowns to interceptions in those six away games when compared with his four home games to date: 8 touchdowns to 5 picks.
His QB rating is near-identical as well, with an 86.4 rating at home as opposed to an 88.9 rating on the road. You could toss out the Jaguars debacle and make a better case for Ben at home; that would be true. But in pointing out the similarities (which also include a 62.9 completion percentage at home versus 60.9 on the road) it’s not the “where” so much as the “who” that will help the Steelers over the course of the next six games.
The Steelers will face a porous Green Bay secondary this week, then matchup with an ailing Houston Texans defense on Christmas Day. Mixed in are all three AFC North opponents and the New England Patriots, who have a defense that has also played down to expectations this season.
Facing weaker competition over the next six games, helps, but four of those will be played at home: that is the icing on the cake.
It’s also the reason we may have seen a glimpse of a second-half season that could end up being one of Ben’s best. Roethlisberger is 4-0 in his last four games, and has a TD:INT ratio of 9:2 over those four as opposed to 7:8 in the previous six. His QB rating also climbed from 78.2 to 103.7.
Needless to say, the Titans game could very well be the catalyst for how Big Ben will perform the rest of the season.
