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End of chapter in Steelers-Ravens rivalry

5 min read

Ben Roethlisberger will pull on his No. 7 Steelers jersey over his shoulder pads before a football game for the final time Sunday.

It’s been a hell of a ride.

Ironically, Roethlisberger’s storied career will come to a close in the same stadium, and against the same team, as it began.

Sept. 19, 2004, a 22-year-old rookie stepped in for an injured Tommy Maddox and didn’t give up the reigns to the Steelers until now. That’s 18 years of quarterback stability.

The fact his career will end where it began wasn’t lost on Roethlisberger.

“My first game I ever played in the NFL was there, and it was against Ed Reed and (Haloti) Ngata, (Terrell) Suggs, (Ray) Lewis, just to name a few,” Roethlisberger said this week. “It was never a lot of fun to play those guys, but I think it was a lot of respect. It’s going to be pretty cool.”

Cool is one way to put it. Fitting would be another.

From 2004 through 2010, the Steelers and Ravens held two annual games – sometimes three – that left both teams bloodied and bruised. But the football world was better for it. Those games in those years between the players Roethlisberger mentioned and players on the Steelers’ side that included the likes of Hines Ward, James Harrison, Jerome Bettis, Troy Polamalu and, yes, Roethlisberger, were the closest thing the football world had to the rivalries of the 1970s.

They were throwback games. Instant classics almost always decided one way or another by three points or less.

And Roethlisberger was a key figure, whether it be throwing a touchdown pass to beat the Ravens or shaking off a sack attempt to live to fight another day.

The NFL changed its rules in 2010 to make the game less violent and perhaps cut down on head injuries. But the memories of those Steelers-Ravens games have lived on so long.

Suggs retired a couple of years ago. Roethlisberger will be the last member of that great rivalry to hang up his cleats.

But we’ll still have the memories.

The Ravens, ever the excellent foil, are bringing Suggs back for this game.

I asked Roethlisberger, who has an 18-11 career record against the Ravens, including playoffs, this week if he would take a victory lap to say goodbye to the fans at M&T Bank Stadium as he did last Monday night at Heinz Field.

“Not unless Suggs wants to go with me,” he replied.

Wouldn’t that be fitting?

  • Last Monday night’s finale against the Cleveland Browns was like the ending of a movie for Roethlisberger. The alternative ending would have the Steelers beating the Ravens and then the Indiapolis Colts losing in Jacksonville to give him one more game.

But I don’t expect it to happen.

Then again, looking at my picks this season – at least against the spread – crazier things have happened. We’ve seen more teams beat double-digit spreads this season -and not just cover the spread, but win outright – than ever before in the NFL.

So, who knows?

This week’s games

Steelers (plus 5) at Ravens: The Ravens have lost five games in a row. They’ve allowed the most sacks in the NFL and have 29 holding penalties, second-most in the league. And, like the Steelers, they’ll be scoreboard watching to see what happens with the Colts in Jacksonville, because they need that and other help to get into the playoffs. Lamar Jackson is unlikely to play in this one. I’ll take the team with the most sacks in the league over the team that has allowed the most sacks. Take the Steelers to win, 23-20

Bengals (plus 6) at Browns: The Bengals have already wrapped up the division title and will be resting key players, including quarterback Joe Burrow. But did you see the effort put forth by the Browns Monday night against the Steelers? Pathetic. Baker Mayfield has been shut down (finally), so the Browns should have a chance to win. Nah. Take the Bengals, 17-16

Colts (minus 15 ½) at Jaguars: The Jaguars are bad. They’ve won only two games. They won only once in 2020 and that came in Week 1 against the Colts in Jacksonville. The Colts haven’t won in Jacksonville since 2014, going 0-6. And Indianapolis won by only 23-16 over the Jaguars earlier this season at home. The Jags are unlikely to win this, but they’ll put up a fight. Take the Jaguars to cover in a 27-17 loss

Chiefs (minus 10) at Broncos: The Chiefs need to win and have the Titans lose against the Texans to have a shot at the top seed in the AFC playoffs. Kansas City should easily hold up its end of the deal in this Saturday special against the Broncos, who seemingly have mailed it in the past couple of weeks. Andy Reid rarely loses AFC West games. Take the Chiefs, 30-16

Chargers (minus 3) at Raiders: The winner gets in the playoffs. The loser misses the playoffs. Both of these teams are as inconsistent as any in the NFL, looking great one week and awful the next. The Chargers are the more talented team. Take the Chargers, 27-23

Last week: 2-3 ATS; 4-1 straight up; Overall: 32-52-1 ATS; 52-34 straight up.

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