When talking about future Hall of Famers, it’s hard to throw around the term “underrated.” However, there are levels and tiers even when talking about the best of the best. Longtime rival and Baltimore Ravens edge rusher Terrell Suggs thinks Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.
“I would say [Ben] Roethlisberger is underrated,” Suggs said via the Rory & Mal podcast on YouTube. “He got more rings than [Aaron] Rodgers. He got more rings than [Drew] Brees. He got like more rings than [Dan] Marino. He’s got as many as Peyeron and Eli [Manning]. So I would say Roethlisberger, he’s probably the most underrated.”
Nobody sacked Roethlisberger more times than Suggs throughout his career, so he knows a thing or two about Roethlisberger’s greatness as a quarterback. That was one of, if not the best, rivalries in all of sports during that era. There was plenty of hatred to go around, but there was also plenty of respect between the two sides.
So what makes Roethlisberger underrated? A brief search had him ranked in the following places on a couple all-time QB lists.
– NFL.com: 19th
– FOX Sports: Honorable Mention (Outside Top 10)
There are never-ending debates to be had about which stats matter the most. Super Bowl wins carry a lot of weight, but how much of that has to do with the team versus the player? Roethlisberger is in a multi-way tie for the sixth most Super Bowl wins and he appeared in one other during his career.
Bart Starr, Bob Griese, Eli Manning, John Elway, Peyton Manning, Roger Staubach, Jim Plunkett and Ben Roethlisberger each have two Super Bowl wins. A couple of those players are for sure ahead of Roethlisberger, but certainly not all of them.
Passing yards and touchdowns matter, but different eras of football were more friendly to the passing game than others. It’s impossible to directly compare a quarterback from the modern era to a quarterback in the 1970s. That being said, Roethlisberger is fifth in all-time passing yards with 64,088 and eighth in all-time passing touchdowns with 418.
He also posted a very impressive .670 win-loss record, which is fifth all-time among quarterbacks with over 100 wins.
One stat that stands the test of time better than others? Fourth-quarter comebacks and game-winning drives show a quarterback’s clutch factor in the most important moments of games. Roethlisberger has the third most all-time in both of those categories.
Nobody could compare to Roethlisberger in his prime in terms of his ability to create plays. He wasn’t as athletic as players like Mike Vick or Lamar Jackson, but he used his size, strength and sneaky athleticism to make things happen.
“That’s almost when he became better when the play broke down. He had to break a sack and he had to play backyard football,” Suggs said. “That’s what you don’t want. You want him in there just kinda playing quarterback. You don’t want him playing street ball. Ben Roethlisberger will light your ass up.”
There are other arguments to be made about Roethlisberger’s lack of a playoff wins over the last several years of his career, or his lack of league MVPs. But to me, he deserves to be in the top 10 all-time conversation. It sounds like Suggs might agree.
