No matter the outcome on Sunday inside Arrowhead Stadium, Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is poised to achieve NFL postseason history once again.
Coming into Sunday’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round, Roethlisberger — who for all intents and purposes has all but stated he is retiring following the season — sits just 99 yards away from moving into third place all-time in NFL history for postseason passing yards, which would push him past San Francisco 49ers’ Hall of Famer Joe Montana in fourth and Green Bay Packers’ Hall of Famer Brett Favre in third in the record books, according to Pro Football Reference.
To date in his postseason career, Roethlisberger has passed for 5,757 passing yards while going 13-9 in 22 career playoff starts, including winning two Super Bowls. Roethlisberger has never been held below 99 passing yards in a single playoff game, and has been held below just 99 yards passing four times in his career, exiting the game with an injury all four times, resulting in the 99 yards or less performance.
The last time the Steelers and Chiefs squared off, Roethlisberger threw for just 159 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the 36-10 loss, so even if he has a repeat performance on the road in the Wild Card matchup, he’ll move into the No. 3 spot in the all-time passing leaders in playoff history.
Doing so would place him behind Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady in first with 12,449 postseason passing yards, and Colts and Broncos Hall of Famer Peyton Manning in second with 7,339. Though he would move into third place all-time, he might not stay there long, as Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers sits just 88 yards behind Roethlisberger and could move into third himself this postseason on an expected deep run into the playoffs by the NFC No. 1-seeded Packers.
Though the accomplishment would just be another accolade used to make the case for Roethlisberger’s lock-tight Hall of Fame case, the Steelers’ veteran quarterback will likely pay it no mind like he usually does, instead wanting to rightfully win the football game and live to play another day.
