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On Sept. 19, 2004, a lean, clean-shaven Ben Roethlisberger came off the Pittsburgh Steelers bench at M&T Bank Stadium, making an impromptu NFL debut with no idea of what his future held. Roethlisberger is going to play his final game at quarterback at the place where he started his career, the home of what became his fiercest rival. CBS.
Roethlisberger's career will come full circle, if Pittsburgh does not make the playoffs, and close out a significant chapter in one of football's greatest grudge matches.
"It's kind of Shakespearean, but I think it would be fitting if we win," said Suggs, who played for the Baltimore Ravens.
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Even as Big Ben prepares to retire, current and former Ravens still want to play him in one last game. Suggs is going to M&T Bank Stadium for the first time in a year to see Roethlisberger farewell game.
Roethlisberger has beaten the Ravens more than anyone else. His 18 victories against them are more than any other quarterback.
The Ravens have slammed Roethlisberger to the ground the most. Baltimore has more sacks of Roethlisberger than any other team.
The last of the old-school players to say goodbye to this rivalry was Roethlisberger, who left to play for the Jets. Future games will have a different feel without Roethlisberger.
Lewis said that in the defensive meeting room, they used to always say that the quarterback was a football player. He's a backyard-type football player. If you ask Ben after he retires to put on a Steeler shirt and I put on a Ravens shirt and let's go at it again, he'll say, 'I'm down for that.' I'm going to hurt. I'm going to go through it.
The eyes of former Ravens who played against Roethlisberger show his role in the rivalry.
It's fitting that Ben Roethlisberger's likely final game will be in Baltimore, where he made his debut in 2004, capping off a fierce rivalry that required fighting for every inch.
Unscripted debut.
In the second week of the 2004 season, the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tommy Maddox, was hit from the blind side by a Ravens player. He got off the ground holding his elbow. With 11 minutes, 53 seconds left in the third quarter, Roethlisberger replaced Maddox, who was the 11th overall pick. Roethlisberger went on to win his next 13 starts after throwing for 176 yards and two touchdown in less than a half of a 30-13 loss in Baltimore.
Bart Scott, a former Ravens player, said that they used to say not to hurt the bad players. Ben Roethlisberger came in after we knocked him out of the game and said, "Oh man, this is barbecue chicken." We have a young quarterback coming in and he makes a couple throws and all of a sudden he's out there like Willie Beamen.
Ben is not a 6-foot-1 quarterback. Ben is 6 feet 5 inches tall. The first thing we said was to get this guy to the ground. Don't hug around his shoulder pads and think you got him down, right? It's going to take more than one person to get him down, I think, in the first couple series.
It was like how he didn't miss a beat. I don't think we made him make a lot of mistakes. When we knocked Tommy Maddox out of the game, we did all their fan base a favor.
The Ravens have more sacks than any other team.
Beatdown in Baltimore.
The two most famous hits on Roethlisberger are the ones that took place in the early 2000s. Scott knocked Roethlisberger off his feet and onto his back when he unblocked him.
I can see how Tiger Woods feels when he hears that ping. When you hit it. It's like the perfect hit when you have the perfect swing. I thought I killed him.
This is what makes him special. The quarterbacks get all the calls when they are favored. He was the only one that didn't look for a call. He wanted to win it the old-school way.
Roethlisberger had a bloody face after he said his body felt like it had been in several car accidents. Roethlisberger had his nose broken by Ngata on the first drive.
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Ngata is going past his guard and Ben is behind it. I want you to come down as hard as you can and try to take him down. I hit him with my left hand and he broke his nose. One of our guys from up in the booth said, "Hey, Haloti broke Ben's nose." I don't remember getting close to his head because it was a quick pop.
Scott: "You talk about being able to look down the barrel of the gun, with all the exotic weapons that we've brought to him." He put tissue up his nose and it was like an S. The pain that this man has taken is legendary.
On December 5, 2010, Roethlisberger walked off the field with a towel to his nose, which had been broken by Ngata on the game's first drive. Roethlisberger would lead the team to victory.
The comebacks.
With a broken nose, Roethlisberger led the winning drive, throwing a nine-yard touchdown to Isaac Redman. 10 of Roethlisberger's winning drives have been against Baltimore.
I am surprised there is not more comebacks like that. He had a good time in a lot of the games. There is still a minute and 12 seconds left in the game. That is too much time for Ben.
I remember looking at his nose and it was like an S. The pain that this man has taken is legendary. Bart Scott.
You think about his physical strength but not his mental strength when you're a tough guy. How many teams can say, "Hey, when Ben Roethlisberger goes to that no-huddle mode where he starts calling his own plays, that's when we get afraid." That's when we get jittery.
He's one of the rare players that raised the level of the players around him, and the players that played against him. You thought you were going to win against him, even if you had a bad game. You couldn't make mistakes and think you were going to win. He was always going to try to make a play. His legacy is going to be that.
Roethlisberger has beaten the Ravens 18 times, more than any other quarterback. That's seven more than any other quarterback.
The farewell is 'fitting'.
It is not likely that the Steelers will make the playoffs. Pittsburgh needs the Colts to lose at theJaguars and the Raiders and Bolts to not tie, as well as winning in Baltimore. If Pittsburgh does not make the playoffs, this game will be the last for Roethlisberger, who ranks in the top 10 all-time in victories, passing yards and touchdown passes. He would take his final snap in the spot where he took his first one.
If we get a win, that would be awesome. Send him off with a loss? If you want to send your rival quarterback off in a good way, you have to lose the game in Baltimore. That will be a great ending.
I hope they end his career there. I hope that's the exclamation mark. He started his career there and we helped him out by knocking Tommy Maddox out. They should knock him out for that too.
If it was one opponent that he could have played last, it would be Baltimore. If you were to ask him the cast or the players on the other side of that, he would go back and say, "Give me Sizzle, give me Ray, give me that crew one more time." I want to dance with that crew again. Now that he's in Baltimore, I hope he doesn't go out the way he wants to go.
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