Benjamin Todd "Ben" Roethlisberger (born March 2, 1982), nicknamed Big Ben , is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Steelers 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio).
Roethlisberger earned the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2004. He became the youngest Super Bowl–winning quarterback in NFL history, helping lead the Steelers, in his second professional season, to a 21-10 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at the age of 23. He was named to his first Pro Bowl in 2007. Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a second Super Bowl title in four seasons as they defeated the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, 27-23, after he made a game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the final 35 seconds. Roethlisberger has been one of the most efficient passers in NFL history. He currently ranks 8th all-time in NFL passer rating (90.8), 7th in yards per attempt (7.93), and 7th in completion percentage (63.41%) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 1500 career attempts. He has the 6th highest winning percentage (.704) as a starter in the regular season among quarterbacks with a minimum of 50 starts.
Known for playing outside the quarterback pocket in what he calls "backyard football", Roethlisberger is often compared to his childhood idol, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway, due to the similar styles and fourth-quarter comebacks. Roethlisberger also grew up idolizing Joe Montana. Roethlisberger wears number 7 in Elway's honor.
Early years
Roethlisberger was born in Lima, Ohio. At Findlay High School in Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger was captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. In baseball he batted .300. Roethlisberger did not play quarterback until his senior year, giving way to the coach's son, Ryan Hite. Instead, Roethlisberger played wide receiver because coach Cliff Hite explained to the Toledo Blade, "My son throwing to Ben was a better combination."
College career
In a twist of irony, Roethslisberger played college quarterback at Division I Miami University in Oxford, Ohio while Ryan Hite played college wide receiver at Division III Denison. At Miami of Ohio, Roethlisberger got a chance to start as a redshirt freshman and started three years of Division I college football after starting just one year as a high school quarterback. Roethlisberger holds every major passing record at the school and a number of passing records in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) despite playing just three years before joining the NFL. In his 3 year career at Miami (Ohio) Ben Rothlisberger threw for 10,829 yards 84 TDs and 34 INTs. In 2003, Roethlisberger led the Miami Redhawks to a MAC championship with a 13-1 record, a No. 10 ranking in the Associated Press poll and a 49-28 victory over Louisville in the GMAC Bowl.
Hite told the Toledo Blade regarding the decision to start his son at quarterback over Roethlisberger: "I'm a nationally known knucklehead."
As a redshirt freshman, Roethlisberger threw for over 3,100 yards. In 2002, he threw more than 3,200 yards, and in 2003, he threw more than 4,400 yards. In 2003, Roethlisberger led the Miami RedHawks to an unbeaten record in the MAC, a no. 10 ranking in the Associated Press poll and a 49-28 victory over Louisville in the 2003 GMAC Bowl. His number was retired by the RedHawks in 91st annual homecoming on Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, with festivities including the RedHawks football game against Bowling Green; Roethlisberger becoming only the third athlete in Miami football history to have his jersey number retired, joining luminaries John Pont and Bob Hitchens. It was the first time in 34 years Miami retired a football jersey number.
College Football Statistics
The Draft
The success of the 2003 Miami Redhawks led to the expectation that Roethlisberger would be drafted early in the draft. During the GMAC Bowl, commentators discussed some of his skills that would translate to success in the NFL. At the combine, Roethlisberger scored a 25 on the Wonderlic. Roethlisberger was one of the players invited to attend the draft along with others in the "Green Room" and was featured on the show "Hey Rookie Welcome to the NFL."
Professional career
Roethlisberger was selected 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. On August 4, 2004, Roethlisberger signed a six-year contract worth $22.26 million in salaries and bonuses, with an additional $17.73 million available via incentives. He was touted by then Steelers coach Bill Cowher in a press conference as a franchise quarterback.
As for Roethlisberger's feelings about not starting at QB for his first 3 years in high school: He told a reporter for the Findlay Courier at the NFL combine just prior to starting his NFL career, "I'm up here now. So no, there's not too many regrets."
On March 4, 2008, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Roethlisberger agreed to an eight-year, $102 million contract. Roethlisberger had two years left on his original that he signed after the draft. He has stated that he wants to retire as a Steeler.2004 season
Roethlisberger did not immediately step in as the starting quarterback for the Steelers. He was the no. 3 QB behind Tommy Maddox and Charlie Batch. When Batch was injured in the preseason, however, Roethlisberger moved up to no. 2. Maddox started, and won, the season opener against the Raiders and started versus the Ravens. But after an ineffective outing and third-quarter injury, Roethlisberger stepped in for his first NFL action. Despite spurring a mild comeback, the Steelers were down too much to win the game. Maddox's injury changed the Steelers' original plan for Roethlisberger, which was for him to sit on the bench or play very sparingly during the first season or two in order to learn the team's system. Instead, he was starting the third game of the season.
As a rookie, he went 13–0 in the regular season (14–1 including playoffs) as a starting quarterback, helping the Steelers become the first AFC team to have 15 wins (2–1 under Maddox , 13–0 under Roethlisberger) in a single season, surpassing former Steeler Mike Kruczek for the record for the best start by a rookie (6–0) and exceeding the mark for total wins as a rookie, set by Chris Chandler and Joe Ferguson. On January 5, 2005, Roethlisberger was unanimously selected as the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press, the first quarterback in 34 years to be so honored.
One of Roethlisberger's biggest games was when he led the Steelers to a 34–20 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion and previously undefeated New England Patriots, ending their NFL-record 21-game winning streak. He completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts for 196 yards, two TDs and no turnovers. The week after that game, the Steelers defeated the also previously undefeated Philadelphia Eagles 27–3. Roethlisberger was 11 of 18 for 183 yards, with two TDs and one interception.
In his first nationally-televised game on Sunday Night Football, he led the Steelers to a 17–16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was near perfect on the night, completing 14 of 17 passes for 226 yards and two TDs. A spike to stop the clock on the game-winning field-goal drive he led was the only thing preventing him from a perfect passer rating for the game. Jeff Reed's 37-yard field goal in the final minute gave the Steelers and Roethlisberger their tenth straight win.
Two weeks later, Roethlisberger faced off against the New York Giants and the no. 1 overall pick of the 2004 draft, Eli Manning. Roethlisberger outshined the QB that went 10 spots ahead of him in the draft, posting his first career 300-yard passing game. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 316 yards and a TD. He led his fifth game-winning drive of the season, capping a drive with a Jerome Bettis TD run for a 33–30 victory. Eli Manning threw an interception to seal the game for Pittsburgh.
In the divisional playoffs against the New York Jets, Roethlisberger threw two interceptions. One interception was returned for a touchdown, and the other was thrown with 2:03 left in the fourth quarter, which set up a potential game-winning field goal by Jets kicker Doug Brien. Brien missed the kick as time expired (his second missed kick in the last two minutes of the game), forcing the game into overtime. In overtime, Roethlisberger led the Steelers down the field and put them in position for the game-winning field goal, a 33-yard attempt that was made by Jeff Reed, sending the Steelers into the AFC Championship for the fourth time in 10 years.
On January 23, 2005 in the AFC Championship Game in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger completed 14 of 24 pass attempts for 226 yards and two TDs, but he also threw three costly interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Rodney Harrison. The Steelers lost the game to the eventual Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, by a score of 41–27.
2005 Super Bowl season
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