Ravens hoping to send Ben Roethlisberger to retirement with a loss
By Kristen Wong
In what will likely be Ben Roethlisberger’s last NFL game, the Baltimore Ravens hope to claim one final victory over their longtime rival in Week 18. No hard feelings.
The Ravens/Steelers rivalry that stood for over a decade will take a slight turn in the road on Sunday when Baltimore plays Big Ben one more time before he hangs up his cleats for good.
This is a must-win for both teams if each wants to keep its playoff hopes alive. Both Baltimore and Pittsburgh have the same unlikely path to the playoffs: win Week 18 and hope four specific NFL teams lose. The most improbable of those matchups is the Indianapolis Colts losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Nonetheless, (almost) everything will be on the line come Week 18.
It would be a stretch to say Big Ben terrorized the Ravens during their division rivalries. Roethlisberger’s record against Baltimore marks one of the worst of his career — in 26 matchups, he has won 16 times but lost 10 times.
Roethlisberger has lost 10 times to a single team only one other time: the Cincinnati Bengals, who notably swept the Steelers this season.
Still, Big Ben has become a sort of familiar, if not despised, face on the other side of the ball. His roots in this rivalry trace way back:
In talking about the magic of #Ravens-#Steelers, Mike Tomlin says, "This series is special b/c of the men that have played in it. Guys like Ben (Roethlisberger) pitting his skills against (Terrell) Suggs, guys like Hines (Ward) pitting his skills against Ed Reed."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 4, 2022
It simply won’t be the same playing a Steelers team without the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback under center.
The Ravens are excited to beat Ben Roethlisberger one more time in Week 18
Despite losing to Baltimore the most times in his career, Roethlisberger has also completed the second-most passing yards against the Ravens in one season.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow takes first after throwing for 941 yards through two games this year, but Roethlisberger comes in close at 891 yards through three games back in 2014.
And he did that against the actual Ravens defense, not a practice squad secondary.
So Baltimore really doesn’t need a reason to want to beat Big Ben in Week 18. The Ravens’ playoff hopes depend on it, and Roethlisberger will go down in history as one of Baltimore’s all-time nemeses.
As excited as the Ravens should be to send Roethlisberger home with a season-ending defeat, they should also cherish this rivalry game as the last of a truly defining era.
If you're a Ravens fan and you aren't going to miss Ben Roethlisberger standing across the field from them on Sundays, I dunno what to tell ya. The Ravens-Steelers rivalry that defined NFL football for a decade plus is coming to a definitive end, and that sucks.
— Ronald Toothe (@_QuoththeRavens) December 31, 2021
None of that emotional stuff will make Odafe Oweh, Justin Houston, Tyus Bowser, and the rest of the Ravens’ pass-rushing unit want to sack Big Ben less, though.
Next. Ravens studs and duds from crushing Week 17 loss to Rams. dark
It’s not personal, it’s just football.