Big Ben's Career Will End the Same Way as Dan Marino's
It was an unlikely outcome, and the Steelers needed the Colts to lose as 16-point underdogs to the Jaguars to make it happen, but Ben Roethlisberger will get one more crack at the NFL playoffs in the final year of his career.
I'm happy for Roethlisberger, and credit to the Steelers for pulling it off, but I don't think this is going to end well.
The Steelers head to Arrowhead to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. They've already lost to the Chiefs this season, losing 36-10 in Week 16 in what many people thought was the end of their playoff hopes.
Now they have to head back to Kansas City, and this time WynnBET has them set as 13-point underdogs.
Pitt opes as 12.5 point dogs in KC. This is highest wildcard spread ever. Chi closed 11 in New Orleans last year. There have been 10 double digit dogs in wildcard history and only 2 have covered. In case someone’s reason for taking Pitt might be “its too many pts in a playoff gm”
— TA (@ClevTA) January 10, 2022
Big Ben Reminds Me of Dan Marino
They certainly don't look the same when playing the position, but this situation reminds me a lot of the end of Dan Marion's career, and I'm concerned that we're going to see a similar result this weekend.
For those of you who don't remember, Dan Marino's last year in the NFL, in 1999, was an ugly one. He had a career low completion percentage of 55.28%, and he threw for only 6.63 yards per attempt and 222.5 yards per game. This year, Roethlisberger has thrown for only 6.2 yards per attempt and 233.8 yards per game, both among his career lows.
Now, as he heads into the postseason, I'm afraid his season will meet a similar fate.
In his final year, Dan Marino managed to beat the Seahawks (who were in the AFC at the time) in the wild card, round, but then went on to get absolutely demolished in the divisional round, losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars by a final score of 62-7. It was hard to watch Marino in his final outing, as he went 11-for-25 for only 95 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. His storied, legendary career, met a disappointing end.
Now, with Big Ben entering the playoffs for the final time off one of the worst seasons of his career, a similar finish is imminent. Sunday's game against the Chiefs might be hard to stomach for any Roethlisberger fans who will be watching.
The Chiefs are going to take Ben Roethlisberger out like Dan Marino's last career game in the 1999 playoffs. pic.twitter.com/minPGWnStW
— Kali Mahomes (@ClayWendler) January 9, 2022