Monday night is likely the last ride for Ben Roethlisberger at Heinz Field. Here is what we think will happen.
Colin Dunlap
Wow. Monday — what a night. This will be it for Ben, huh?
In all honesty I look for Ben to pretty much turn off Matt Canada’s microphone. No way in the world he allows Canada to ruin his party. Also, it is the Browns. Does Ben (outside of that playoff game) ever have a bad game against the Browns? Not really.
This game will be one emotional high tide from pregame all the way until the postgame interview session when Ben, in passive/aggressive form, flames someone. That said there is no logic I see where Ben has anything but a big game on Monday night. He’s just destined for it. I bet he throws 4 touchdowns and disposes of Cleveland one final time.
Chris Mack
Moments like Monday night are where the legend of Ben Roethlisberger has been built and maintained over the years. To think he’ll let this final one -at least the final opportunity at home, against the team he’s haunted, in front of the Steelers faithful at Heinz Field- pass without one final reminder of what he was capable of at his peak would be foolish.
And against the team he’s tormented his entire career but who gave him the kind of humbling a year ago that spurred his desire to come back for just one more year?
While the Ben of 10+ years ago who can scramble, extend plays, and make magic on the move, isn’t in there any more, what we saw in the first 11 weeks of the 2020 season is still in there.
And Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada would be silly, with the hopes of a playoff berth still clinging to life, and perhaps his future as OC on similar life support, to not let the ol’ backyard cowboy goes out there and draw some things up in the dirt. Especially against a Cleveland defense that makes its bones in pass rush, not coverage.
If given the opportunity to, we could be treated to the kind of performance that would remind all of us of just how important Roethlisberger was to this franchise for nearly two decades.
Either way, whether Canada smartly bakes it in to the game plan or it simply falls to Ben to have the kind of 4th quarter he’s perfected over the years in come-from-behind situations, I expect a big moment or two from Roethlisberger.
And a Steelers victory to keep their playoff hopes alive, 24-20.
Jim Colony
Earlier in the week, Ben Roethlisberger broke away from his longstanding policy of not addressing his future until after a season by acknowledging that (disclaimer – almost certainly) Monday will be his final home game. So it’s also time for Ben to break away from another apparent 2021 policy – letting Matt Canada control the direction of the offense. Publicly, as least, the veteran QB has been too nice to his Offensive Coordinator. This implies that Roethlisberger has run the plays Canada has told him to run which recently has been nothing less than a disaster in first halves. Throughout his career - from Ken Whisenhunt to Todd Haley and even, at times in-between, his buddy Bruce Arians - Ben often chafed with his coordinators. Quite often, it worked and it’s time to do it again. Monday’s game plan needs to be all Ben, almost all of the time. Canada can make suggestions as he watches from above but let the future Hall of Fame QB call his own shots.
Jeff Hathhorn
For years, Jim Colony and I would go out to the rotunda during player introductions at Heinz Field, be outside for the national anthem and occasionally watch a flyover. There are few players in the history of the organization where you don’t have to be watching the field or hear PA announcer Larry Richert mention their name to know they are entering. As a veteran of years of Steelers games, I get chills thinking about Larry saying “And at quarterback…” on Monday night. Around 8:10p when number 7 comes out of that tunnel, makes the hand gesture ‘I love you’ to his family and also to the fans, it will be something for Steelers fans to remember.
Paul Zeise
The Steelers are in a tough spot because even though we all know it is Ben Roethlisberger’s last home game, he hasn’t officially announced it. I expect there to be some minor tributes to him and I believe his reception from the fans will be off the charts. I expect many standing ovations. As for the actual game, I can’t imagine Roethlisberger is going to go out handing the ball off a bunch. He is going to give us one more glimpse of how great he was by throwing a bunch for a bunch of yards.
Chris Mueller
I think Roethlisberger has played well enough in enough big games throughout the course of his career that it's fair to expect that he'll be at his best. What I don't know is how good that will actually look, because the team around him hasn't done much to help him. There is every reason to believe that the Steelers will struggle to stop Cleveland's pass rush, will struggle to contain Nick Chubb and the Browns' running game - if Cleveland isn't stupid and stubborn and insistent on putting the ball in Baker Mayfield's hands a bunch - and will simply not have enough talent to compete with a roster that is objectively better than theirs, top to bottom. The crowd will be electric, the atmosphere will be great, and hopefully the Steelers let Roethlisberger go full gunslinger from the start, but my biggest concern is that all of that won't be enough.
Andrew Limberg
The Steelers offensive line and defense gave Ben Roethlisberger lemons for most of this season, but tonight he makes lemonade. Through his career, Big Ben has come through in big games or when people have doubted him. At 39-years-old, Roethlisberger isn’t the player he once was, but certainly isn’t the reason for the Steelers lack of success this season. Barring some revelation, this will be Roethlisberger’s last game at Heinz Field and he will play his tail off, the only question is will his offense pick up their game as well? I think they do and the Ben sends the Browns backing back to Cleveland with one last loss over a team he has dominated for nearly two decades.