Four touchdowns. That’s all Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger needs to reach the 400-point mark in his career. Something only Tom Brady did before him on his way to the 600.
Cleveland High School was wiped out by injuries and players on the Reserve / COVID-19 list, so reaching that milestone today is not entirely outside the realm of possibilities. If there are four touchdowns in four quarters, it will not be the first this season – Roethlisberger did this in week 9 against Bengals. That was also the night he became only the seventh quarterback in NFL history to launch more than 60,000 yards in his career.
I know, week 9 looks like moons ago, given the ups and downs of the season. But if the attack can produce a rhythm as they did more recently against the Colts, just out of the gun and not in the last 30 minutes, reaching the milestone is feasible.
Roethlisberger also showed that he is capable of throwing a large number of touchdowns in a single round of the playoffs – he hit five in Pittsburgh’s painful loss to the Jaguars in 2017.
How appropriate and exciting would it be for Ben to reach the 400 tank destroyers launched tonight against Cleveland? After all, it was the debut of the 2007 Steelers season – against the Browns – when Big Ben set a record for four touchdowns. Just seven games later, he would eclipse him with five against the Baltimore Ravens.
But, even with all the injuries, this is a different team from the ’07 Browns. And let’s not forget, this is playoff football. The Browns are in it to win as much as the Steelers.
A second milestone, more attainable, and made just as impressive, are the touchdowns launched this season. Roethlisberger scored three points in what was his regular season finale against the Colts, so he needs just one to tie his career record of 34 – set in 2018 – or two to overcome. And then he would be halfway to 400, he might as well go on.
There is a great support cast to help Roethlisberger do well. The options are plentiful. And beauty is – no matter who it is – whether JuJu Smith-Schuster, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool or James Washington. Hell, even an endzone release for Eric Ebron, James Conner or Ray-Ray McCloud will suffice.
What’s cool is that Ben shouldn’t get four touchdowns, but if he defeats Cleveland, he’ll have another chance to get the record for the 2020 season in Buffalo in the divisional round.