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On Sunday Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played in his 220th NFL game, tying him with Hall of Fame center Mike Webster for most games in a Steelers uniform. Roethlisberger entered the contest against the Denver Broncos with 56,774 passing yards and 366 touchdown passes. By the time the game was over he passed recently-retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning on both counts.
For one, he moved into seventh place on the all-time passing yardage list, as noted by the team’s official Twitter account.
By virtue of completing 29 of 41 passes for 311 yards against the Broncos, Roethlisberger now has 57,055 passing yards, eclipsing Eli Manning’s 57,023 yards. Of the six quarterbacks ahead of him on the list, three are still active: Philip Rivers, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, the latter at No. 1 with almost 78,000 yards.
Meanwhile, by throwing two touchdown passes on Sunday, Roethlisberger moved into sole position of eighth place on the all-time passing touchdowns list, just behind Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, who has 370 touchdown passes. Again, there are three active QBs ahead of Rodgers and Roethlisberger, the same trio noted immediately above, with Brees also atop the career passing TD leaders list.
Both lists also feature the same three retired QBs: Peyton Manning, Brett Favre and Dan Marino.
Ben Roethlisberger + Mike Tomlin > Dan Marino + Don Shula
Speaking of Marino, Pittsburgh’s 26-21 victory over the Broncos enabled Roethlisberger to co-achieve another milestone, making coach Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger the third-winningest head coach-quarterback tandem in NFL history, passing the late Don Shula and Marino, both members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Roethlisberger will have a chance to add to his stats again next Sunday, when the Steelers take on J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans at Heinz Field. Among other things, Roethlisberger will extend his franchise record for most games started, which currently stands at 218.
Kevin Dotson’s Impressive NFL Debut
Meanwhile, rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool wasn’t the only Steelers rookie to have a good day against the Broncos. Claypool deserves his share of attention, thanks to his highlight reel 84-yard touchdown catch. But as noted by Pro Football Focus, rookie offensive guard Kevin Dotson “didn’t allow a single pressure all day on 42 pass-blocking snaps in an impressive debut.”
During Ben Roethlisberger’s post-game press conference he noted that he gave Dotson a game ball for his efforts. “I was just so happy that he got out there and got to play. I gave him the ball afterwards and told him to give it to his old man [a longtime Steelers fan]. I’m just really thankful for him … and the whole line altogether,” said Roethlisberger.
Touchdown Celebration of the Day
Finally, if you didn’t see it, Steelers receivers Diontae Johnson and JuJu Smith-Schuster teamed up for the game’s best touchdown celebration of the day.
After Johnson caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Roethlisberger in the fourth quarter, he retrieved the ball from an official and ran to the near-empty first row of the stands, where Smith-Schuster played the role of excited Steelers fan.
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