Everything went right in Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game for Steelers
By Austin Lloyd
From the vibes in Heinz Field to the unfolding of its matchup, everything about Ben Roethlisberger’s last Steelers home game felt just right.
One of the NFL’s hottest topics today is Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger strongly leaning towards retirement after the conclusion of this current season.
But after the bittersweet Heinz Field scenery witnessed both during and after Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns, the odds of soon hearing Roethlisberger’s swan song have become a virtual guarantee.
The game between two historic rivals needed to see the black and gold prevail if the Steelers were going to have any hopes of making the playoffs, and prevail it did. After a slow start, the affair riddled with mistakes on both sides saw Pittsburgh pull away with a 26-14 win.
Through every single snap of the game, though, all felt right with what was unfolding before Steeler Nation.
An emotional game for the Steelers
For starters, Roethlisberger’s final stat line on the night may not have been the most gorgeous. However, he has never exactly been renowned for a gorgeous playstyle; he’s big, hard to bring down, and is the type of guy you want in a dogfight, not where everything has to be perfect.
As for Roethlisberger’s teammates, they understood their own assignments, both offensively and defensively. A more seemingly-unnoticed example is Chase Claypool’s significant boost in humility.
This has probably flown under the radar for some because Claypool hasn’t been relied upon as much in recent weeks. But when he has been, he has simply gotten back up and headed back to the huddle. He made a point of keeping this level of composure for Ben’s last home game, and he deserves a great deal of kudos as a result.
Switching over to the defensive side of things, where to begin? The pass-rush was absolutely brutal, most namely with linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith closing Cleveland’s pocket over and over. Along with that came a plethora of mistakes made by Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield, similarly to Big Ben, has never appeared to possess a pretty-boy playstyle in his NFL career, and Monday night was no exception. Throughout the deathmatch, Mayfield threw multiple deflected passes and even a pair of interceptions.
Not to mention that the latter of those two picks gave Roethlisberger the opportunity to kneel down for his final home play. So, to say that Mayfield didn’t help in setting the mood would be ungrateful at best.
Lastly, Heinz Field was as electric as ever. The stands were packed with thousands of loyal fans, cheering and waving their Terrible Towels. Many even had signs, showing their appreciation to the veteran QB who had led their franchise to three Super Bowl appearances–and two Super Bowl wins–in under seven years’ time.
Must Read. 7 free agents the Pittsburgh Steelers need to target in the new year. light
Winning rough games over mediocre rivals before a full house is the standard that Ben Roethlisberger has tried his hardest to keep for just about 18 years. While he has at least one more game to go, there was no better way to possibly guide him out of Heinz Field. So on behalf of the Steel City, thanks for all of the great memories, Ben. The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t be the same without you.