It didn’t take Ben Roethlisberger long to learn his first NFL lesson. Pressed into action far sooner than anyone anticipated, Roethlisberger replaced an injured Tommy Maddox during the team’s Week 2 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Pittsburgh’s first round pick of 2004, the goal was to sit Roethlisberger his rookie year and allow him to develop. Plans quickly changed, and Roethlisberger was thrown into the deep end. Roethlisberger would soon learn how to swim, leading the Steelers to a 15-1 record and the Super Bowl in his second year. But like any rookie, he took his lumps.
Appearing on former teammate Bruce Gradkowski’s Alpha 5 Method podcast Tuesday, Roethlisberger remembers the big mistake he made in his NFL debut.Â
“We have a chance late in that game to drive down the field, and I learned a very valuable lesson in the NFL. I got a two-minute drill to go win the game. And at the time, we did our two-minute one through 10, right?” Roethlisberger said, holding up his hand to signal the play. “Play one, play two, play three, four, five, and so on and so on. Well, obviously, you would use two hands. That’s why you stopped at 10 instead of 11.”
Roethlisberger went on to explain that to signal “ten,” he was supposed to hold up two closed fists instead of two open hands to avoid confusion with “five.” But Roethlisberger forgot and held up ten fingers. To him, that was play ten. To the receiver, that was play five. A quick trip to disaster followed.
“So I signaled 10, 10, 10. And the receiver did five, and I threw a pass, and I got picked-six. So we ended up losing the game. I just was like, alright, two-minute drill, balls in your hand, you get a chance to go win your first game, and you blow it off of like something so silly as that. Made me like, in two-minutes, I’m never making that mistake again.”
The cameras didn’t capture the signal, but they captured the result. Roethlisberger’s throw was well off target, throwing underneath as the receiver kept vertical, and Chris McAlister dove on the ball, getting to his feet and making a house call. Roethlisberger’s first interception was a pick-six.
At least he didn’t give up many pick-sixes the rest of his career, something we noted in a morning article noting that Kenny Pickett’s yet to throw one in his career. And for the record, the Steelers were down ten, making this a non-game winning situation. Though an ugly moment, Roethlisberger’s mistake didn’t rob the Steelers’ chances to win.
The rest of the season worked out far better for Roethlisberger after that mistake. The Steelers didn’t lose another game in the regular season and beat the New York Jets in the AFC Divisional Round before falling to the New England Patriots one game shy of the Super Bowl. But Roethlisberger would lead them there the following year, getting RB Jerome Bettis a ring in his final NFL season.
Roethlisberger would go on to become one of the NFL’s most clutch quarterbacks, third in history with 43 comebacks and tied for third with 53 game-winning drives. Oh yeah, there was that Super Bowl drive, too. Making these types of moments ones to laugh about years later.
Check out the entire conversation below.
