Roethlisberger got his encore, even though Steelers lost wild card match

If we’re being honest, very few NFL insiders, analysts, or fans – including Pittsburgh Steelers fans – felt that the Black and Gold stood much of a chance against the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, members of the team admitted they felt little pressure to do more than play the game and see if they couldn’t enjoy it and possibly steal the win.

With the NFL playoffs under way, football fans notice of online gambling, with the Steelers as much as a 14.5-point underdog heading into Sunday night’s game at Kansas City.

The Steelers didn’t win, unfortunately, on Sunday night but the game was still an opportunity for Ben Roethlisberger to get an encore performance in what is likely to be his final postseason game in the NFL.

Eighteen years of play. Eighteen years of fight. Eighteen years of aches and pains. All of that led to one night at Arrowhead Stadium in front of fans from both teams who offered signs of thanks from the stands and messages that they’d see him in Canton (Ohio) when he’s inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Embed from Getty Images

Roethlisberger struggled in the first half of the game against the Chiefs. Whether nerves were an issue or not, the passing game was not in sync; the receivers seemingly could not handle the zip Big Ben put on the ball or were having issues securing the pass while in-route. That led to almost zero offensive production while Kansas City got hot and began the rout.

In the second half, it almost felt like Mike Tomlin, Matt Canada, and the Steelers’ coaching staff may have given Roethlisberger more autonomy and told the veteran to make the most of the rest of the time he had on an NFL field.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure. I don’t have the words.” – Mike Tomlin on his time with Roethlisberger

Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes – one to Diontae Johnson, one to James Washington – in the final quarter of his postseason finale. The Steelers were hoping to give him one more touchdown in the final seconds of the game, but it didn’t come to fruition.

Embed from Getty Images

“God has blessed me with an ability to throw a football and blessed me to play in the greatest city,” Roethlisberger told the media after the game. “I’ve been here a long time and it’s been a lot of fun. It was meant to be, I was going to wear black and gold. I am just so thankful.”

The Steelers are going to experience some growing pains as Roethlisberger closes his chapter, telling the press he was handing over the veteran leadership of the Steelers to Cameron Heyward – a great leader, but not a future quarterback. What comes next at the QB position is very much up in the air.

The 2021 NFL season had a lot of ups and downs for the Steelers. They battled hard on several occasions; they also didn’t show up on others.

That Roethlisberger got to take the national stage one last time as an encore performance is the biggest takeaway from the night beyond some key highlight moments from Big Ben’s teammates. He didn’t take a lap, but his trip into the tunnel reminds us all that time moves on.

 


Suggested articles from our sponsors