In New York earlier this week, Eli Manning learned he had lost his starting job as quarterback of the Giants with just a few games remaining in his 14th NFL season.
Monday night, when the Steelers (9-2) play the Bengals (5-6) at Paul Brown Stadium, Manning will likely move a step closer to losing something else -- his grasp on having the seventh-most passing yards in NFL history.
Ben Roethlisberger enters the game against the Bengals needing 238 yards to become just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to surpass the 50,000-yard mark. That's 150,000 feet, the equivalent of under 29 miles, or more than five times the height of Mount Everest, the highest point on the planet.
"Let’s do it. That’s how I feel. It’s either [the Bengals] or somebody else," Ramon Foster told me of Roethlisberger moving past that mark. "Let’s get it out of the way. It’s amazing. That would solidify everything about his career. No matter what you say about him, the guy is a ball player. He is the epitome of the quarterback position. You don’t get that many yards by accident. He’s a Hall-of-Fame guy."
I asked Roethlisberger what it means to him.
"It means I've played for a long time," Roethlisberger said with a chuckle. "It's special. I've never been one to care about individual accolades and things like that. It means I've had some great running backs and tight ends and lines. It's something that I share with everybody that I've played with."
His teammates appreciate that kind of humility from their quarterback. But they also know they have a chance to be part of something special, as well.
"You know what that means? He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer," Maurkice Pouncey told me. "No, really, it does. He’s a great quarterback. We see it. His career has been unbelievable."
So too, however, has been that of Manning, who is the player just ahead of Roethlisberger on the all-time passing list with 50,625 yards. With Manning now benched, Roethlisberger should pass him before the season ends.
All seven players ahead of him have competed in the league at some point in the past 20 years, showing how much the NFL has turned toward the passing game.
But Roethlisberger, Manning and the Chargers' Philip Rivers -- who needs just over 1,000 yards to reach 50,000 -- will forever be linked as members of the 2004 NFL draft. Those three have never been particularly close but, because they all came into the league in the same season, the Steelers' quarterback has always kept his eye on the respective careers of Manning and Rivers, who were the first and fourth players selected in that draft. Roethlisberger went 11th.
Because of that, what happened to Manning has hit home with Roethlisberger.
"It’s a tough situation that they’re in and that he obviously had to be in, so I’m thankful it’s not happening to me right now," Roethlisberger said. "I mean he’s my draft class guy. Tremendous football player. I think the way he handled everything shows the type of person he is."
Roethlisberger has given us a glimpse into his soul, as well, in the past year. He talked openly of retirement in the offseason, starting when his wife, Ashley, was concerned for his long-term health. But once he made the decision to return at 35 for a 14th NFL season, he was all-in, even if it didn't appear that way early in the season.
An ultra-competitive person -- one of the reasons why he has always paid attention to the exploits of Manning and Rivers -- Roethlisberger was obviously not happy with his play earlier this season, particularly following a five-interception game against Jacksonville.
"I guess maybe I just don't have it any more," he said in the moments after that game, a statement many outside his locker room took as a statement of fact.
It was more of a statement of defiance.
Since that game, Roethlisberger has heated up considerably. In the Steelers' first five games, he threw six touchdown passes and seven interceptions, posting a passer rating of just 75.8. Since, he has completed just under 65 percent of his passes with 14 touchdown passes and five interceptions, posting a passer rating of 103.6. Not surprisingly, the Steelers are 6-0 in those games. And he's gotten better as the season has gone on.
In the Steelers' past 10 quarters, Roethlisberger has 10 touchdown passes and a passer rating of 112.7.
I asked Pouncey if he has seen his quarterback's focus get sharper as the weather has turned colder and the games have started taking on more importance.
"Hell, yeah. Most guys do. Most veterans know it’s the time you hone in," Pouncey told me. "This time of year, everything counts. You can’t have a mess-up game. This time of year, you’ve got to be hitting on all cylinders and elevating. We’ll see how this season turns out, but I think this team has got that."
It's not the best stretch of football Roethlisberger has played in his career -- that would be a three-game stretch in 2014 when he tossed 14 TD passes in wins over Houston, Indianapolis and Baltimore -- but it's been impressive, especially for his teammates.
"Ben has been putting the ball on the money lately," Stephon Tuitt told me.
Even Roethlisberger admits things have been better of late. Spurred by his hot streak, the Steelers have scored 40 and 31 in their past two games.
They have the NFL's leading receiver in Antonio Brown, the league's leading rusher in Le'Veon Bell and a red-hot quarterback.
"I think that we’ve been able to score points. We’ve been able to be successful in the red zone and third downs," Roethlisberger said of the team's recent scoring outburst. "That could be just playing at home. Having to communicate a little bit easier, the comforts of home, things like that. Maybe we’re just starting to click, so we’ll see this week. This is a very good defense that has never given up 30 points, that knows us very well. So, this is a big test for us."
One of the teams the Steelers did beat during their six-game winning streak was Cincinnati at Heinz Field Oct. 22, scoring a then-season-high 29 points. Roethlisberger was good in that game, as well, throwing a pair of touchdowns to supplement the running of Bell, who gained 134 yards on the ground.
But he also threw the ball just 24 times in that game, posting 224 yards. That yardage total wouldn't get Roethlisberger past the 50,000-yard milestone.
He would be fine with that as long as the Steelers win, even if it meant waiting another week to surpass the 50,000 mark.
"He's a great player, an elite guy," said Todd Haley. "You don't put up those kind of numbers and have the kind of success he's had without being really good. He's done it with different guys around him, different guys up front.
"He's going to tell you, I'm going to tell you, we're shooting for the main thing. That's getting a chance to play in that Super Bowl and winning it. That's really what we're focused on."
Winning is much more important than personal accolades. Those are the things you look at once your career is over.
And despite his offseason questions about his future, Roethlisberger is very much in tune with that, especially after seeing what happened to Manning.
"(I'm) very thankful for this organization," he said. "It’s a tough situation that they’re in and that (Manning) obviously had to be in, so I’m thankful it’s not happening to me right now."
