Steelers: The best of Big Ben in the 4th quarter
By Tim Weaver
What makes a good athlete great? Winning MVP awards? Championships? Breaking records? No, it’s not so much what a player does that defines them, it’s when. That makes Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger one of the best ever.
It doesn’t matter what the sport is, or what era. The greatest athletes (and the ones that stand the test of time) are the ones who save their best work for when the stakes are highest.
Who cares if your ace had a perfect game going into the 8th inning if he gives up six runs? What about a goalie who saves every on-goal shot except the one in overtime? Or the quarterback who throws for 500 yards but throws an interception during the two-minute drill with the game on the line?
From Michael Jordan to Mariano Rivera to Joe Montana the most heralded athletes are the ones that come through in the clutch.
That’s good news for Steelers fans because Ben Roethlisberger is about as clutch as they come.
One fan recently made a highlight reel that put together some of the greatest fourth quarter heroics of Big Ben’s career. Check it out:
Roethlisberger doesn’t just put up incredible individual numbers in the fourth quarter, more often than not he leads Pittsburgh to wins.
Next: Mike Mitchell stepped up in 2015
According to Pro Football Reference, Roethlisberger has 27 career fourth quarter comeback wins. That ties him for tenth all time with Eli Manning and Johnny Unitas. Big Ben has also led the Steelers on 37 game winning drives since he came into the NFL in 2004. That ranks 8th all time.