Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger Among Players’ Choice To Lead Final Drive
By Matt Shetler
Dec 29, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) looks to pass against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
They say that an athlete’s greatest praise comes from his peers.
In that case, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is doing quite well.
Love him or hate him, Roethlisberger still belongs among the elite signal callers in the NFL and his peers see it that way as well.
Roethlisberger, one of three NFL quarterbacks with more than one Super Bowl ring, was fifth in an ESPN poll surveying 320 NFL players (10 from each team) of which quarterback they’d want leading their team into a final drive in the Super Bowl.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady finished first with 128 votes, and Denver’s Peyton Manning was second with 86. Aaron Rodgers (32 votes) and Drew Brees (21) finished third and fourth, respectively. Roethlisberger had 20 votes, five of which came from the 10 Steelers polled.
Personally I still have Roethlisberger as a top five quarterback in the league, right behind the four mentioned ahead of him. If you don’t buy into that, he has to come just outside of the top five.
Roethlisberger has long been known for his play in the clutch, but considering the fact that the Steelers are coming off back-to-back 8-8 campaigns, it is interesting to see that players around the league still respect his late-game abilities, especially since he hasn’t had many opportunities to do so the last year and a half.