Ben Roethlisberger is back and the Steelers are dangerous

Ben Roethlisberger helped the Steelers cruise to victory Monday night.

Ben Roethlisberger threw a total of 62 passes in 2019 before missing the rest of the season with an injury. That left the duo of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback and the end result was an 8-8 record.

The Pittsburgh Steelers finally got Roethlisberger back Monday night and he looked like his old self. He finished with three touchdown passes and did not throw an interception as he picked apart the New York Giants defense. He even ran the ball twice for 11 yards on a night when James Conner left with an injury.

Ben Roethlisberger looks solid in his 2020 debut

Roethlisberger did take some hits in the game and ended the night with two sacks. Steelers fans are at a point now where every hit on Big Ben appears to be a serious one, but he finished the game and the elbow injury that kept him out for the 2019 season was not an issue.

The veteran quarterback also did a great job of spreading the ball around. Juju Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson each had six receptions, while rookie Chase Claypool got on the board with two. Smith-Schuster hauled in two of Roethlisberger’s three touchdowns and James Washington had the third.

This was the best-case scenario for the Steelers. Roethlisberger had a dead cap value of $44.5 million this year so there was zero chance he was being let go.

His return is also great news for Smith-Schuster. The young receiver is fighting for a new contract and struggled in 2019 without Roethlisberger at quarterback. He battled injuries en route to finishing with a career-low 552 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Getting two in Week 1 of the 2020 season puts him on track for a huge season.

Three touchdowns is just a usual game for Roethlisberger and the Steelers join the Ravens at 1-0 in the AFC North after Week 1. Next up is a showdown against the Denver Broncos in what should be a tougher test for the veteran quarterback.