Just as in the 17 seasons previous, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ success in 2021 hinges on the performance of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
There’s no telling what we’ll see from the Steelers offense under new coordinator Matt Canada, but the 39-year-old Roethlisberger should not be expected to sling the ball 500 to 600 times like in previous seasons.
With 60,348 passing yards, Roethlisberger sits in seventh place on the NFL’s all-time list, sandwiched between Hall of Famer Dan Marino and retired New York Giants QB Eli Manning.
Roethlisberger was neck and neck with the youngest Manning brother at the start of the 2020 season, so it only took a couple of games to pass him. Big Ben should surpass Marino’s 61,361 yards by this season’s midpoint.
Even in a season when Big Ben will (hopefully) do more handing off than throwing, passing for 3,000-yards is totally attainable. It’ll take Roethlisberger most of the season, if not all 17 games, to eclipse Rivers’ 63,440 yards, though. If Rivers comes out of retirement, as he’s been hinting, that could change things.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Tom Brady is the only active quarterback in the top five for passing yardage. Brady is second behind Drew Brees, who retired this offseason.
