Pittsburgh Steelers: There’s always the ‘what if’ with Ben Roethlisberger

Ben Roethlisberger will never leave the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there will always be the question looming – what if he ever did?

Before we start, yes, I am a Steeler fan. I know some of the things discussed in this post will make it seem otherwise.  I have been a lifelong fan and have enjoyed the past 15 or so years of watching Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.

And yes, I do think that Roethlisberger is a future Hall of Famer. He is one of the top quarterbacks of this generation and should be considered amongst the greats of all-time.

Having said that, I still sit back and think about all of the ‘What ifs’ with Ben, his career and the Steelers success since 2004. There have been a number of seasons that the Steelers were Super Bowl favorites, or a number of seasons that they had a dominate defense good enough to win in any era, or top talent on offense that gave them the advantage every week, but have come up short.

There was a time when the Steelers and Patriots had a ‘rivalry’ and the team accomplishments during this era were comparable. Every other year it was either the Steelers or Patriots representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, or at least it seemed that way.

That comparison is no more, given the Patriots having won three out of the last five Super Bowls and the Steelers haven’t been to one since 2010.

The 2005 and 2008 Super Bowl seasons were amazing and fun to watch.  Ben no doubt was a major reason for those championships runs. He is part of one of the greatest plays and endings in Super Bowl history. He has led numerous game-winning drives, filled up the stat sheet weekly and has used his backyard style play to make play after play when there seemingly wasn’t anything there.

Yet, there are ‘what if’s’ from his career that make me wish for more.

What if he could have led the team on a last second drive vs Green Bay in the 2010 Super Bowl? The Steelers had the ball with a chance to drive down and win with a minute left. That drive ended on three straight incomplete passes. At the time, it was hard to imagine, but that could have been the last time we see Ben in the Super Bowl.

What if he played better and they didn’t lose at home in the 2004 AFC Title Game? Yes, I know, it was his rookie year, but he threw 3 picks and generally wasn’t good at all. The team that year was 15-1 and couldn’t protect home field. The Patriots ended up winning the Super Bowl that year after beating the Eagles.

What if they won either home playoff game vs Jacksonville in 2007 or 2017? The 2007 game was another home playoff game where he threw three picks.

What if he could have managed to beat the 8-8 Denver Broncos led by Tim Tebow in the 2011 Playoffs? Everyone knew if the Steelers could get ahead in the game in would have been hard for the Broncos to come back, but they started slow and were down 20-6 at half. The Broncos were dismantled in Foxboro the next week. Could the Steelers have won there that year?

What if he played a style that helped him stay healthier? He has only played in all 16 games in a season four times.  In games he has missed due to injury in his career, the team is 10-9. Would they have won more if he weren’t injured?  Would they have made the playoffs in any of the years he missed time due to injury:

• 2006 – he missed one game and they missed making the playoffs by one game.
• 2009 – he missed one game and they missed making the playoffs/winning the division by one game.
• 2012 – he missed three games and they finished two games out of the playoffs.

What if he led differently? Would the team be worried about replacing the best wide receiver of this era? Would the team with arguably the most talented offense the last 5 years be looked at as a waste?

The Steelers have had great success with 7 as their QB and he is undoubtedly the best the franchise has seen (all due respect to Bradshaw). He is a no doubt Hall-of-Famer. He is a two-time champion and the only one left on the Steelers roster.

But what if there was more?