5 reasons Steelers have already held onto Ben Roethlisberger too long

Results have been underwhelming

When things are going right, it seems like Ben Roethlisberger receives a large portion of the credit, but when things go wrong, the blame seems to be passed along to the offensive coordinator or someone else entirely.

Roethlisberger has done a lot of good things in recent years. While many fans want to believe that he was the reason this team started off 11-0 last year (the best start in the history of the franchise), Ben was clearly just a game-manager at this point as evidenced by his 32nd ranked passing yards per attempt. In fact, this is essentially the same team that saw 8 wins with dreadful quarterback play just a season prior, thanks to a terrific defensive unit.

Late in the season, when things matter most, Big Ben hasn’t shown up. He has a record of just 4-7 from Week 12 on since 2018. In addition, his last two playoff games have been embarrassingly bad as he has combined for 6 turnovers (5 interceptions, 1 lost fumble) in his last two playoff contests. In both his 2017 loss to the Jaguars and his 2020 loss to the Browns, Ben has turned the ball over very early in both games and allowed his opponent to jump off to huge early leads.

Ben hasn’t won a single playoff game since 2016 and there’s no reason to believe the Steelers chances will improve in his old age.