Say what you want about Ben Roethlisberger, but it’s tough to deny that he was one of the toughest quarterbacks, if not players, of his generation. He certainly wasn’t afraid to take a hit, nor was he afraid to play while being a bit banged up.
Current Arizona Cardinals quarterback Josh Dobbs has first-hand experience playing behind Roethlisberger and can attest to just how tough he is. Dobbs was a fourth-round pick by the Steelers in 2017 and spent time as a backup quarterback with the black and gold from 2017-2019. He recently went on the Not Just Football Show with Cam Heyward and had this anecdote to share about Ben’s toughness. This was during Week Nine of 2018 when the Steelers went to Baltimore to play the Ravens.
“Ben scrambles, and obviously at this point in his career he’s not a dynamic runner.” Dobbs recounts. “He’s running. [Za’Darius Smith] catches him from behind and lands on him. I thought he was out. He’s laying on the field, lifeless.”
Dobbs then entered the game, on a second-and-20 from the Steelers’ own five-yard line. He delivered a strike to JuJu Smith-Schuster for a gain of 22 yards. Dobbs was feeling really good after the big gain.
“This game’s easy! We are about to go down and score a touchdown. Life is good, Josh Dobbs Show.” Dobbs recalls thinking. “My man Ben comes off the sideline like he was resurrected on Easter Sunday. Jogs back on the field and says ‘I’m good, I’m good.’. And we go down and we kick a field goal to make it a two-possession game and we ended up winning.”
That would be the only throw of the game for Dobbs, as Roethlisberger played the rest of the way, leading the team to a 23-16 win. That 22-yard gain made up more than half of Dobbs passing yards on the season, and he would only appear in two more games as a Steeler. It’s clear that Roethlisberger has heard of the Lou Gerhig-Wally Pipp story before, and even at age 36 was as durable as ever.
While Dobbs never caught on with the Steelers, he’s recently taken over as the starter of the Arizona Cardinals and has played quite well. For someone who was in a quarterback battle with veteran Colt McCoy and fifth-round rookie Clayton Tune leading up to the season. The Cardinals, who were expected to be the worst team in the league this year, picked up an upset victory over the Dallas Cowboys in Week Three. Dobbs is currently eighth in the league in QBR, and has yet to throw an interception this season.
