Pittsburgh and Ben Say Goodbye

 

It was an emotional scene at Heinz Field this past Monday night when Ben Roethlisberger played his final game in front of the home crowd.  Steelers Nation turned out in full-throated support to say goodbye to the future Hall of Fame quarterback, and the nation got to witness it as it all played out on ESPN on Monday Night Football.  No need for me to recite the litany of Big Ben's historic statistical accomplishments.  You can find those easily enough on line, but no statistical table will capture what I will always remember about Roethlisberger: That the Steelers were never completely out of a game when the ball was in Ben's hands late in the fourth quarter.  Everyone remembers Santonio Holmes' amazing catch to win Super Bowl XLIII against the Cardinals, but please don't forget how Roethlisberger drove the team 90+ yards down field with time running out that culminated in that picture perfect pass that he threw to Holmes. And in a season where the Steelers are not-all-that-good a team and where his own skills have diminished notably, at least two Steelers victories this year, the first win over Cleveland and the win over the Ravens, can be attributed to the sheer force of Roethlisberger's will.

In that final home appearance, Ben did not play all that well, 24 for 46, 146 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, the Steelers managed to win against a traditional rival, kept their dim playoff hopes alive, and assured themselves of a non-losing season for the 18th year in a row.  And Roethlisberger put a cherry on top of a career long domination of the Cleve Brownies.   It was somehow even sweeter that Ben's final home game was a victory over the Browns.

Of course, Ben and the Steelers have one more game to play at Baltimore on Sunday.  The Ravens have lost five in a row, so a Steelers/Roethlisberger victory in that one is not unimaginable, and, win-or-lose, it seems appropriate that Ben's final regular season game will be against another traditional AFC North rival.  Too big a domino (Jacksonville beating Indianapolis) has to fall for the Steelers to make the playoffs, and in a perverse way, I almost hope that they don't make it.  As a seventh seed, they would likely have to face the Chiefs or the Titans, and the result of such a matchup would likely not be pretty for Steelers fans.  So let's just let the scene of Ben Roethlisberger's final game be what we saw at Heinz Field this past Monday Night.

********

Other thoughts on this Steelers-Browns game...

Lost amid the hoopla for the Ben Farewell was the terrific performance of rookie running back Najee Harris: 188 yards rushing, a spectacular 37 yard TD run that sealed the victory in the final minute of the game, and a stiff arm that turned a Browns DB into a rag doll on a long run earlier in the game.

And, oh yeah, he broke Franco Harris' team record of rushing yards by a rookie.  Let's see what he'll be able to do when (if?) the Steelers are able to get a solid offensive line in place for him.

********

And how about those Browns.  Yet another season when Playoff and even Super Bowl ambitions crashed and burned along the Lake Erie shores.  Now, even the future of Baker Mayfield in Cleveland has come into doubt.  One of the big stories of the coming off season will be what will the Browns do with the Mayfield, who can become a free agent after the season.

And where has the Steelers defense that we saw on MNF been all season?  Nine sacks of Mayfield, and they shut down RB Nick Chubb when he was in the game.  And if I'm a Browns fan, I'd be asking the same question that was being asked by Peyton and Eli during the game: why wasn't Chubb in that game are often?

It was pointed out by Joe Starkey on his show yesterday that were it not for their two losses to the Steelers this year, the Browns would now be sitting at 9-7 and in the hunt for a playoff spot. So while the Steelers have not had the kind of season that their fans want and desire, they can take a lot of satisfaction in knowing that they were surely responsible for ruining the Browns' season.

********

We will save the agonizing over what-happens-next for the Steelers at quarterback for later, but consider these options:

• Turn the position lock, stock, and barrel over to Mason Rudolph.
• Draft a QB in an early round and turn it into a training camp competition between Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins, and the draftee.
• Sign a veteran free agent QB to serve in the interim before the next Bradshaw/Roethlisberger wunderkind is ready to take the reins.  Names like Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers, and even Baker Mayfield have been bandied about.

Oh, it's going to be sports talk show heaven around The Burgh as this scene plays itself out.