Ben Roethlisberger will play his final regular season game Sunday in Baltimore against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium regardless of whether the Steelers advance to the playoffs or not.
Win or lose, this will be it.
For Roethlisberger, the irony is not lost on him that this also happens to be where he saw his first NFL action, as well, stepping in for an injured Tommy Maddox early in the third quarter with the Steelers trailing 20-0.
Roethlisberger would go on to throw the first of his 417 career touchdown passes -- a 3-yard flip to Antwaan Randle El -- and interception -- his second pass was picked off by Adalius Thomas -- as the Steelers lost that game, 30-13, their only defeat in the 2004 regular season.
"My first game I ever played in the NFL was there, and it was Ed Reed and (Haloti) Ngata, (Terrell) Suggs, (Ray) Lewis, just to name a few," Roethlisberger said Wednesday as the Steelers (8-7-1) began preparations to travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens (8-8) in their regular season finale. "It was never a lot of fun to play those guys, but I think it was a lot of respect. It’s going to be pretty cool."
It would be a lot cooler, to steal Roethlisberger's term, if the Steelers can come away with a win. While it wouldn't guarantee the Steelers a playoff spot -- they would still need the Jaguars (2-14) to beat the Colts (9-7) Sunday, it would at least send the 39-year-old quarterback out with a victory.
That's what the Steelers provided him with in his final home game Monday night against the Browns, a game they won, 26-14.
"Surreal," Roethlisberger said Wednesday of that event. "My family and I just felt so much love. We were so thankful for the fans, former teammates, all of the many notes that were written on social media, texts we got, calls. It’s really hard to put into words. Like I said after the game, I wish I could bottle it up and kind of keep it forever. I think one of the most special things about the night is that my kids are old enough to remember it. It was something that I’ll cherish forever, and I think they will too. I just can’t say enough thank yous to the people who made that night so special."
It was an outpouring and spectacle that has seldom been seen in the sporting world, let alone Pittsburgh.
The crowd chanted Roethlisberger's name throughout the game. He spent nearly 30 minutes on the field following the game basking in it all, celebrating with fans and his family.
The family aspect of this final year is one of the reasons Roethlisberger came back this season.
"For sure. For them to know and understand what’s going on is pretty cool," he said of his children, Ben Jr., Baylee and Bodie. "My youngest is 5. I don’t remember a lot of things from when I was 5, but there’s probably one or two things we all remember from when we were really young. I really hope and think this will be one of those things. I know the oldest one will, and my daughter will.
"For them to understand what dad did, to go fight and compete and win and give it everything I have, I hope it’s something they will understand and will get passed down to them, as well."
What dad did was win. A lot.
Roethlisberger's 164-81-1 record going into Sunday's game gives him the fifth-most wins by a quarterback in NFL history. His 164 wins with one franchise are second only to the 219 Tom Brady had with the Patriots. And regardless of what happens Sunday, he'll retire with a winning record against all of the Steelers' AFC North opponents. He's 16-10 in his career against the Ravens, 24-10 against the Bengals, and an astounding 25-2-1 against the Browns in his starts. He also owns a 4-2 record in the playoffs for his career against the other AFC North teams.
But, the thing he's most proud of -- beyond two Super Bowl wins and three appearances -- was secured with Monday night's victory. It marked the 18th consecutive season that the Steelers won't have a losing record in the Roethlisberger era.
"Some of my most favorite stats aren’t the individual ones, it’s the 90-some wins at home and it’s having 18 seasons without a losing record," said Roethlisberger, who owns every meaningful team passing record. "To me, it’s about winning football. That’s probably the one I’m most proud of, 18 seasons without a losing record."
That desire to win, the grittiness often involved with making it happen, is what his teammates have always appreciated about Roethlisberger. It wasn't always pretty, but when the game was on the line, more often than not, he came through. Of his 164 career wins, nearly a quarter (40) have been fourth-quarter comebacks. Only Peyton Manning (43) and Brady (42) have more. And his 52 career game-winning drives are behind only Manning (54), Brady and Drew Brees (53).
"I think two things that really stick out are his toughness and his clutchness," said Cam Heyward. "Toughness-wise, he's been beat up. I don't know if a lot of other quarterbacks could do it. You usually see a lot of quarterbacks start to slide or take knees. I haven't seen Ben do a lot of that. And I don't know if that's because he doesn't want to get hurt doing it, but Ben is a warrior because of it.
"And then his clutchness, as long as I've been here, they've always said, if the game is close, Ben can win that game. We've been very lucky to have a quarterback who is always going to give you a chance."
The Steelers will have that for one more game, and then they'll head into what can be the wilderness that is not having a franchise quarterback.
Longtime backup Mason Rudolph is currently the only quarterback under contract with the Steelers for 2022, though third-stringer Dwayne Haskins is a restricted free agent and the Steelers can easily retain him, as well.
The Steelers could go into 2022 with a competition between those two to be Roethlisberger's replacement next season, or they could bring in a rookie or veteran to be the next guy.
Either way, Rudolph, who has been with the team since the Steelers selected him in the third round of the 2018 NFL Draft, will be in the mix.
Roethlisberger questioned the selection of Rudolph at the time the pick was made, and the two have never been all that chummy since. But he also understands the pressure on Rudolph.
"He works really hard. He’s smart. It’s just the repetition. He got a lot of reps that year I didn’t play very much," Roethlisberger said referring to the 2019 season he missed all but two games in because of an elbow injury. "I know he and Duck (Hodges) kind of did some splitting time. I think this offseason, knowing that there is going to be a competition for it, I think that will be good for him. It’s probably pretty hard to wrap your mind around what you have to do to be a starter when there’s a veteran guy ahead of you. I think that could do wonders for him this offseason."
The offseason. It won't seem all that different for Roethlisberger from most other ones -- at least not until July rolls around.
That's when retirement from playing professional football will sink in the most. Roethlisberger won't be preparing to play football again this offseason for the first time in his adult life.
"I will spend a lot of time — I’ve already talked to some guys — but I’ll spend a lot of time talking to former teammates, NFL quarterbacks and people that I call friends," Roethlisberger said of retirement. "That’s when it will probably sink in the most, when it’s time for training camp. But I’m pretty sure I’ll be pretty busy being a dad and a husband at that time, too."
But he'll never be too busy for his former teammates. Roethlisberger plans on staying in Pittsburgh, a city that's embraced him and his family. As he has mentioned numerous times this season, he's spent nearly half of his life being the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That switch won't just go off when he hangs up his cleats. He's formed relationships in the locker room and at the UPMC-Rooney Sports Complex that will last a lifetime.
Perhaps more importantly, he's formed a relationship with the area.
He plans on still being a visible part of the Steelers organization -- when needed or called upon.
"I’m sure. I’ve got some friendships in here that are going to last," he said. "Just like some of the guys are still texting me. I’ve gotten so many messages the past few days. I’m sure I’ll do it. I’ll probably pop in from time to time to see how everyone is doing. I love to send things to guys to encourage, congratulate, build guys up, whatever it may be. Until they tell me to stop, I’ll probably keep on doing it."
