While nothing has been made official, Monday night’s game against the Cleveland Browns will likely be Ben Roethlisberger’s final home game after an 18-year career.
One Cleveland cornerback wants to celebrate the occasion by picking the Steelers quarterback off at least once, maybe twice.
Denzel Ward told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Yeah, my first rookie game, I remember going against Antonio Brown and getting two interceptions on Ben, so that definitely would be nice to repeat that this next game."
It should be an emotional night at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger has 91 career wins at home, no other Steelers quarterback has more in team history or wins in general with 163. He is also the all-time passing touchdown leader with 416 over 18 seasons.
"I think it's going to be a playoff atmosphere," Ward said. "That's the type of game that it is. We need to go in there and focus all on Pittsburgh, and we have to go in there and find a way to get a win. I know it's going to be a crazy atmosphere, though."
Even at 7-7-1, the Steelers are still not mathematically out of the playoffs but need to win their last two games and will also need help if they are to make the postseason.
While Ward wants to pick off Big Ben a few times and help his team, at the end of the day, it’s all about respect.
“It's definitely an honor to take the field against Ben Roethlisberger, watching him since I was a kid and just compete against him."