In sports, there are often moments that leave fans and players alike up at night, wondering what would have happened if things were a little different. Some of them have to do with a play on the field, others have to do with trading or not signing a player, and some happen off the field.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a moment that falls into the latter category. It was June 2006, and the team was fresh off winning a Super Bowl. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger went out on his motorcycle, as he often did, and got into an accident that landed him in the ICU. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.
Roethlisberger needed surgery, both the day of the accident, and over the next few months. An emergency appendicitis caused him to miss Week 1, and he battled the aftereffects of the injury during the 2006 season.
Former Steelers QB Charlie Batch, who filled in for Roethlisberger in that Week 1 matchup, feels this was a missed opportunity for the Steelers to add another ring.
“The things that happened for him in 2007 and then ultimately 2008, if it was not for the motorcycle accident in 2006, that would have just been bumped up one extra year.” Batch said on the Christian Kuntz podcast. “Ben would have went from ’05 to ’06, and I truly believe that if Ben Roethlisberger did not get in that motorcycle accident in June of 2006 we were back-to-back champions.”
Roethlisberger had his worst statistical season in 2006. He led the league in interceptions with 23, against just 18 touchdowns, and posted career lows in completion percentage and QBR.
The 2006 Steelers underwhelmed, in large part due to this. They had a lot of their Super Bowl-winning roster back, and even with the Roethlisberger injury news baked into the line, their over/under was 10.5 wins. Batch led them to a Week 1 victory, but after that the wheels fell off, and the team stumbled to an 8-8 finish. No Steelers team has been worse since the 2003 squad went 6-10.
Would the team have won the Super Bowl that year if Roethlisberger didn’t hop on his motorcycle, or even worn a helmet? It’s impossible to say, but we do know that Roethlisberger leaped in 2007, making his first Pro Bowl and setting career highs in touchdown passes and quarterback rating. That version of him would have certainly given the 2006 team a puncher’s chance against anyone.
