While the beginning of the 2014 NFL season was a bit rough for Pittsburgh Steelers signal-caller Ben Roethlisberger, his last two games have been nothing short of legendary.
Up to this point, Roethlisberger’s 11-year career has partly been in the shadows of future Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. But over the past few weeks, the underrated and overlooked Roethlisberger has proved his case that he deserves to be mentioned with the best.
“Big” Ben started his impeccable streak with a matchup against the Indianapolis Colts at home. Roethlisberger would throw for 522 yards while maintaining an 81.6 completion rate, an extremely rare feat that requires pin-point accuracy. This would be the second time in his career that the Steeler would pass for over 500 yards in one game, making him the first quarterback in NFL history to do so. Oh yeah, he also threw for six touchdowns, making him the first quarterback of the season to do so.
Roethlisberger followed up his big game against Indy by setting another NFL record. In Pittsburgh’s next matchup against the division rival Baltimore Ravens, “Big” Ben led the charge by throwing for 340 yards and, yet again, six touchdowns. This would be the first time in history that a quarterback threw for six touchdowns in back to back games.
In two games, Roethlisberger threw for a combined 12 touchdowns and 862 yards. For a quarterback in the NFL, a good month would produce the aforementioned stat line. But in two weeks? That type of thing is just unheard of.
So, what can NFL fans expect from Roethlisberger this upcoming week? The Steelers go up against the New York Jets in New York. Ranking 12th in the NFL in pass yards allowed, the Jets defense won’t be easy to stomp over. It will be interesting to see whether Roethlisberger can follow up his past two historic games with yet another impressive one.