Ben Roethlisberger’s Pittsburgh sendoff was perfect in so many ways for the Steelers quarterback on Monday night. He played his final home game at Heinz Field, beat the Browns — the team from his home state that passed on him in the draft — and did it all before 63,624 fans that alternated between “Thank you, Ben” and Let’s go, Ben” chants throughout the night.
Sunday’s regular season finale in Baltimore will be Roethlisberger’s final NFL game if the Steelers don’t sneak their way into the playoffs, and the opponent and venue couldn’t be more fitting.
M&T Bank Stadium is where Roethlisberger made his NFL debut 18 years ago, and the Ravens have long been his most bitter and respected rival.
“My first game in the NFL was there,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday morning. “It was Ed Reed, [Haloti] Ngata, [Terrell] Suggs, [Ray] Lewis, just to name a few. I could keep going down the list. It was never a lot of fun to play those guys, but there was a lot of respect. It’s going to be pretty cool.”
On Sept. 19, 2004, Roethlisberger played in his first NFL game after the Ravens knocked Tommy Maddox out early in the first quarter. The Ravens drilled the Steelers, 30-13, but Roethlisberger threw his first touchdown pass to Antwaan Randle El — and his first pick-six to Chris McAllister — and finished with 176 passing yards.
It was the only game the Steelers lost during the regular season as Roethlisberger led the team to 14 consecutive wins and the top seed in the AFC.
Roethlisberger has a 16-10 record as a starter against the Ravens and beat them twice in the playoffs. He led the Steelers to a victory over the Ravens in the 2008 AFC championship game as well as a 2010 divisional round game. He also lost an AFC wild card game to them in 2014.
The Ravens, sensing the end of an era in the rivalry, are bringing Terrell Suggs back for Sunday’s game. He is being honored as their legend of the game.
Suggs, who registered 139 sacks during his career, was a longtime nemesis of Roethlisberger and the Steelers.
“We had a lot of battles together,” Roethlisberger said. “There was a lot of respect between us.”
There has always been a mutual respect between Roethlisberger and the Ravens because of the punishment they served up to him over the years — and how the Steelers quarterback handled it.
In a 2010 regular season game in Baltimore, Ngata broke Roethlisberger’s nose with his fist. Roethlisberger stayed in the game and led the Steelers to a come-from-behind victory that ultimately earned them the AFC North division title.
Roethlisberger also absorbed some of the hardest hits of his career from Bart Scott and Courtney Upshaw when they sacked him.
“Painful,” Roethlisberger said when asked what it’s like to play the Ravens. “You never walk out of those games feeling fresh. You go to a place that is tricky to play. It’s loud. Those fans are passionate. It’s never an easy football game.”
The final trip to Baltimore could be just as memorable. The Steelers and Ravens both remain alive for the playoffs. The Steelers can get in as the No. 7 seed if they beat the Ravens and the Colts to lose in Jacksonville. The Ravens have a similar path if they beat the Steelers.
For Roethlisberger and the Steelers, the challenge is playing one more game with playoff implications following the emotional high of Monday night’s win. Roethlisberger enjoyed the victory and what the moment meant for him and his family.
“It’s really hard to put it into words,” he said. “I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever.”
Roethlisberger said he didn’t come down from the high until Wednesday morning.
“Then you get up and you realize what this week is,” he said. “It’s Baltimore this week, and it makes it fun.”
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: January 5, 2022, 5:27 p.m.