The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping to get the Ben Roethlisberger of old back again, but here’s why his performance against the Broncos wasn’t as good as you think.
After three straight losses, Steelers fans were looking for a reason to be optimistic about the 2021 season. Many of them believe they found that with an impressive win over the Denver Broncos.
There were very few negative performances from Pittsburgh to note in this game and many players who stood out in a positive light. One player who has fans raving is quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
While Big Ben certainly had his best game of the season in Week 5 against the Broncos, I’m not ready to say that he’s a completely different quarterback than the one we have been seeing since mid-season last year. Here are three reasons why Roethlisberger’s performance for the Steelers on Sunday was not as good as you think:
Ben threw three dropped interceptions
When looking at Ben’s statistical production in this contest, it’s important to consider it in context. Yes, the 18-year veteran boasted a noteworthy 120.9 passer rating, via ESPN, and I was thrilled that he was able to average over 10 yards per attempt for the first time in forever. However, his production could have looked much worse.
Roethlisberger had not one, not two, but three passes hit Denver defenders in both hands before the ball dropped to the turf. If even one of these passes gets intercepted, Ben’s passer rating takes a serious hit. One of these passes — his worst decision of the day — was nearly taken to the house as his pass to the flats took forever getting there.
While every quarterback has their share of luck from time to time, the Steelers quarterback was lucky to escape this game with just one turnover. The passer rating was terrific, but don’t read too far into that.