NFL Playoffs: Divisional round quarterback rankings
By Joe Romano
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers
Another quarterback who has a history of playing his best football in big games is Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
The two time Super Bowl winning signal caller is coming off one of his worst seasons statistically. Despite this the Steelers are still the two seed in the AFC and playing a divisional game at home where they are 4-0 all time.
Roethlisberger was very up and down all season. Take a look at his stat line and you will see games like the one against his opponent this weekend the Jacksonville Jaguars where he threw a career high five interceptions. Then there are games like the one against fellow playoff team the Tennessee Titans where he threw for 299 yards with 67% of his passes completed and four touchdowns.
Pittsburgh fans were worried when Roethlisberger debated retirement this offseason. This team is loaded on offense with Antonio Bryant and Le’Veon Bell being the best players at their respective positions. They also scored a win with their draft pick last year in JuJu Smith-Schuster. They needed their veteran signal caller to ensure that skill position talent did not go to waste.
The Steelers will need all the fire power against the NFL’s best defense in Jacksonville. There will be many touting that five interception game as evidence that the Steelers are in trouble. With Roethlisberger’s playoff history there should be little taken away from that regular season game over three months ago.