The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Heinz Field in the 2014 regular season finale with the AFC North title going to the winner. In addition, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will have an opportunity in that game to accomplish something that only five other quarterbacks in the history of the league have been able to do.
Should Roethlisberger pass for 365 or more yards Sunday against the Bengals, he’ll become just the sixth different quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards in a single season.
The 5,000 yard passing club currently includes Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Dan Marino and Matthew Stafford. Brees, however, has thrown for 5,000 yards in a season three times during his career already and he heads into the final week of the regular season needing 329 passing yards to register his fourth.
Roethlisberger will face a Bengals defense Sunday that has only allowed four different quarterbacks to throw for more than 300 yards in a game against them this season. Roethlisberger, however, is one of those four quarterbacks as he threw for 350 yards against the Bengals back in Week 14. The Steelers won that game 42-21.
Even if Roethlisberger misses the 5,000 mark Sunday, he’s still had an All-Pro season. The main goal for him is to beat the Bengals as it would result in not only the Steelers winning the AFC North title, but a first round home playoff game as well.
