Ben Roethlisberger has been a staple to the Steelers offense for 15 years. Here’s how I have him ranked among all current NFL quarterbacks.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been considered one of the better quarterbacks the league has had to offer for over a decade now. However, he has never quite been able to eclipse the elite class.
Quarterbacks like Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Aaron Rogers have been a cut above the rest over the past decade of football. As winning as Ben Roethlisberger has been, it’s hard to justify putting him in the first tier with these passers.
I have separated NFL quarterbacks into tiers. Here where Big Ben falls among them:
| Tier 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Mahomes | KC |
| 2 | Tom Brady | NE |
| 3 | Drew Brees | NO |
| 4 | Aaron Rodgers | GB |
| Tier 2 | ||
| 5 | Russell Wilson | SEA |
| 6 | Andrew Luck | IND |
| 7 | Matt Ryan | ATL |
| 8 | Philip Rivers | LAC |
| 9 | Baker Mayfield | CLE |
| 10 | Ben Roethlisberger | PIT |
| 11 | Cam Newton | CAR |
| 12 | Dak Prescott | DAL |
| 13 | Jared Goff | LA |
| 14 | Carson Wentz | PHI |
| 15 | Deshaun Watson | HOU |
| Tier 3 | ||
| 16 | Kirk Cousins | MIN |
| 17 | Nick Foles | PHI |
| 18 | Matthew Stafford | DET |
| 19 | Jimmy Garoppolo | SF |
| 20 | Mitchell Trubisky | CHI |
| 21 | Alex Smith | WAS |
| 22 | Sam Darnold | NYJ |
| Tier 4 | ||
| 23 | Derek Carr | OAK |
| 24 | Josh Allen | BUF |
| 25 | Andy Dalton | CIN |
| 26 | Lamar Jackson | BAL |
| 27 | Jameis Winston | TB |
| 28 | Ryan Fitzpatrick | TB |
| 29 | Eli Manning | NYG |
| 30 | Marcus Mariota | TEN |
| 31 | Joe Flacco | BAL |
| 32 | Case Keenum | DEN |
| 33 | Josh Rosen | ARI |
| 34 | Blake Bortles | JAX |
| 35 | Ryan Tannehill | MIA |
I have Ben Roethlisberger as my 10th ranked quarterback heading into the 2019 season. Ben is outside of the first tier of quarterbacks who are, in my opinion, currently a cut above the rest.
Big Ben finds himself below Wilson, Luck, Ryan, Rivers, and Mayfield in my second tier. Though you could make a case for Ben to be above the quarterbacks just mentioned, he hasn’t been as consistent as the quarterbacks above him.
At times, Ben Roethlisberger looks like the best quarterback in the league – firing on all cylinders and effortlessly moving his team down the field. He did exactly that against the Panthers last season, where he put up a 52-point showing and posted a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
However, Ben’s lows have game-altering implications. He turned the ball over 5 times against the Browns to start the season last year, and threw head-scratching interceptions against the Broncos and Chargers down the stretch.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Ben is still a great quarterback. But his carelessness with the ball at times and his 59 interceptions over the past 4 seasons lands him firmly in the middle of tier two of my quarterback rankings in 2019.
With a little more consistency out of Roethlisberger in 2019, he will have a chance to elevate his status among the best quarterbacks in the league. Still, the Steelers quarterback is in my top 10, and that isn’t a bad place to be right now.