PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger might never practice again.
OK, that’s unlikely, but Roethlisberger proved he didn’t need a week of practice when he put together his best game of the season in a 36-10 win against the Cincinnati Bengals to preserve the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ undefeated record.
Unable to be at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Roethlisberger spent five days in isolation after being labeled as a high-risk close contact of tight end Vance McDonald, who tested positive for the coronavirus last week. Because he never tested positive or developed symptoms, Roethlisberger was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday in time for an extended walk-through with the team.
That was all he needed.
The veteran quarterback completed 27 of 46 attempts for a season-high 333 yards and four touchdowns, also a season high. With the four touchdowns, he set a franchise record with 124 multi-touchdown games, good for eighth in NFL history.
It’s also Roethlisberger’s first game of throwing four touchdowns since Week 10, 2018, against the Carolina Panthers, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. He hasn’t thrown four touchdowns against an AFC North opponent since he had six against the Baltimore Ravens on Week 9, 2014.
Roethlisberger came into Sunday’s game averaging 241 passing yards per game, a mark he eclipsed in the first half when he completed 17 of 27 attempts for 243 yards and two touchdowns.
By the fourth quarter, the game turned into the Steelers’ first blowout of the season, but it took a few drives for Roethlisberger and the offense to get in sync. The Steelers alternated punts and field goals in the first four drives before finally scoring a touchdown on their fifth possession, a one-minute drive where Roethlisberger connected on three straight passes, beginning with a 46-yard deep ball to Diontae Johnson. The pair capped off the drive two plays later with a 12-yard touchdown pass to take a 12-0 lead late in the first quarter. Johnson’s connection with Roethlisberger was strong Sunday as the second-year receiver also had his best game of the season with 116 yards — his first 100 yard game — and a score.
The Steelers scored twice more before halftime, adding another touchdown on an eight-yard strike from Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster on a drive aided by back-to-back costly Bengals penalties. Kicker Chris Boswell added three more with his third field goal of the half just before the break to give the Steelers a 22-7 halftime lead.
To build the lead, the Steelers followed the script that has helped them to second-half comebacks the past two weeks.
With the run game stalling out, the Steelers went to an empty set on 32% of dropbacks, per ESPN Stats & Information, double the amount used in the first half against the Ravens and Dallas Cowboys. Roethlisberger was productive in those first-half sets, completing 6 of 9 passes for 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Roethlisberger has 11 touchdowns out of empty sets this season, a mark that leads the NFL by a wide margin.
With a significant lead, the quarterback’s output slowed a bit in the second half. Roethlisberger completed 8 of 16 attempts for 77 yards and another touchdown in the third quarter and added another touchdown throw in the fourth — both to rookie Chase Claypool (4 catches, 56 yards, 2 TD) — before coming out for Mason Rudolph.
Coach Mike Tomlin was never worried about his veteran quarterback playing without a week of practice — and with good reason. After 17 years in the NFL, Roethlisberger is more than capable of playing in a game without a week of going through the motions.
He’s done it before, too, throwing for nearly 400 yards against the Cleveland Browns in 2015 after not practicing all week with a foot injury.
This time, though, the week without practice was a little different.
In the past, Roethlisberger has missed practice reps, but he’s still been on the field, watching every move and listening to every play call.
But because protocol for high-risk close contacts required Roethlisberger to isolate for five days, all he could do was watch silent footage of practice on his iPad and text his coaches to ask about specific plays he saw on the film.
“Even if you’re not out there you can hear it and be a part of it, so it was definitely different,” Roethlisberger said Saturday. “I watched every play of practice, but you just watch it on your iPad at home so you don’t get to hear all those things. It was definitely a lot different than anything I have experienced before.”