Ben Roethlisberger Being Overlooked in Vegas Heading into Regular Season
By Peter Dewey
Ben Roethlisberger made his preseason debut this year in the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Detroit Lions, and he looked extremely polished in the Steelers’ new offense.
Roethlisberger completed eight of his 10 pass attempts for 137 yards and two touchdowns, registering a perfect 158.3 passer rating. Roethlisberger is nearing the end of his career, but he certainly looked good enough to help the Steelers grab a playoff spot in the 2021 campaign.
“I thought he did a nice job,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of his quarterback. “I thought we got what we wanted to get accomplished, getting him familiar with administering the offense in a stadium-like circumstance. I thought he did a great job of communicating. He made good, fluid decisions, and we were able to move the ball.”
WynnBET has Roethlisberger tied with the likes of Ryan Fitzpatrick and Tua Tagovailoa to lead the league in passing at +6000 odds, and he’s even with Daniel Jones, Saquon Barkley, Trevor Lawrence, Jimmy Garoppolo, Fitzpatrick, Chase Young, Dalvin Cook and Derek Carr to win MVP at +7500 odds.
Are we talking about the same Ben Roethlisberger? Look, I know Ben isn’t in his prime, but the fact that he’s tied with Jones, Garoppolo and two running backs seems a little low.
Roethlisberger led the Steelers to an AFC North title last year, yet Pittsburgh is third in the odds to win the division at +400 behind the Cleveland Browns (+155) and Baltimore Ravens (+105).
I’m not saying the Steelers are going to have the same success, but to expect them to fall off severely is foolish given the fact that Roethlisberger can clearly still play.
Maybe things will change in the regular season, and the Steelers do have questions on their offensive line, but I would buy low on Roethlisberger entering the 2021 campaign if oddsmakers are going to rank him as low as they are.
The odds listed in this breakdown are available over at WynnBET. Make your pick.