With 27 yards passing, Ben Roethlisberger will jump past 2004 draft mate Philip Rivers and become the fifth-most prolific passer in NFL history — a milestone, he said, that means he has played a long time.
When he was sacked three times against the Los Angeles Chargers last month, Roethlisberger passed Tom Brady and became the most-sacked quarterback in league history — an ignominious milestone, he said, that means he has played a long time — and maybe held on to the ball too long.
He couldn't be accused of doing that last week in Minnesota, at least, not in the first half when he was sacked five times and hit hard numerous other times by the Vikings. Roethlisberger admitted that was the most punishment he has absorbed in a long time.
"It's probably been awhile since I felt like that in the days after a game," he said. "But that's football."
Roethlisberger began the season trailing Brett Favre (525) and Brady (521) as the most-sacked quarterbacks in history. But after being sacked 30 times this season, including 16 in the past five games, he has ascended to the top of the list with 546. The next closest active quarterback is Aaron Rodgers with 492.
The irony of Roethlisberger's sack record is that he has been the league's least sacked quarterback since 2015. But that was when he was playing behind an offensive line that featured three former Pro Bowlers — center Maurkice Pouncey, guard David DeCastro and left tackle Al Villanueva.
The heaviest concentration of his sacks came from 2006 to 2009, when he was dropped 189 times. Not surprisingly, those totals began to decline when Pouncey was drafted in 2010.
Roethlisberger will likely achieve a more a significant milestone against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday when he needs 27 yards to pass Rivers (63,440) for fifth place on the league's all-time passing yardage list.
"Those are things you look back on when you're done," Roethlisberger said. "Anytime you get up there with — I'll even call them a legend from my draft class — it's cool when you play a long time."
