5 incredible, but forgotten, Ben Roethlisberger plays

#2 Touchdown pass to Hines Ward in hurricane vs Dolphins (2004)

The Week 3 contest between the Steelers and Dolphins in 2004 was Ben Roethlisberger’s first start. Due to Hurricane Jeanne, the game was pushed back to Monday night rather than Sunday.

The game displayed the defensive juggernaut the Steelers had built. The defense held Miami to just a field goal and had four takeaways throughout the course of the game. Neither offense could do much on the muddy baseball/football hybrid field after the rain that swept through Miami, but Roethlisberger and the Steelers did just enough.

With just under seven minutes remaining in the game, the Steelers led 6-3 off the strength of two Jeff Reed field goals and were inside the Miami 10 yard-line. Roethlisberger faked a pitch and took off to his right before firing a dart to the front pilon, hitting Hines Ward for the touchdown. The late score all but ended the Dolphins’ chances of mounting a comeback, and Pittsburgh went on to win the game 13-3, improving to 2-1.

Ben only completed 12 passes in his first start, as the Steelers relied heavily on the ground game in light of the bad weather. Ward caught nine of those 12 passes and caught his second touchdown in two weeks to give Pittsburgh the win.