3 reasons resting Ben Roethlisberger could backfire on Steelers

Roethlisberger could start off rusty in the playoffs

The last time Ben Roethlisberger won the Super Bowl, he did so as a Wild Card team with no rest between the regular season and the playoffs. This isn’t to say that rest can’t do him good, but historically, it has not been beneficial to this particular player in crunch time.

Take the playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after the 2017 season, for example. Despite having an impressive year that included 4,251 passing yards and 28 touchdowns, Roethlisberger killed the Steelers early in the game after having the week off. While trying to shake off the rust, Ben gift-wrapped the first 14 points of the game for the Jaguars with two costly first-quarter turnovers. Though the Steelers eventually fought back with a solid offensive performance, they played catch-up the whole game.

Obviously, this doesn’t mean that history is going to repeat itself and that Roethlisberger is going to look terrible in the first round of the playoffs this year, but it is something to consider. When resting a player at his age, we can only hope that rigor mortis doesn’t set in before he is asked to start slinging the ball 40+ times per game in the playoffs. Sure, Ben’s body will be a bit more rested, but he probably won’t look as sharp as he did against the Colts in the second half.