The Steelers took a page out of the Denver Broncos playbook when they asked Ben Roethlisberger to take a pay cut on the final year of his contract. The Broncos asked 39-year old Peyton Manning to do the same thing when he was entering the final year of his career back in 2015.
Manning went out a conquering hero with a storybook ending when he led the Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl 50. Manning is one of only two quarterbacks in the Pro Football Hall of Fame to go out on top. The other was John Elway, who retired after he led the Broncos to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIII after the 1998 season.
More often than not, the end isn’t kind for Hall of Fame quarterbacks. Other NFL greats were unceremoniously benched, injured or went out in embarrassing fashion.
There was:
Wide receiver Juju Smith-Schuster mimics a basketball shot during Steelers training camp at the team’s South Side complex on Friday, July 23, 2021. With him are quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7), and wide receivers Chase Claypool (11) and James Washington (13).
• Johnny Unitas playing his final season with the San Diego Chargers.
• Joe Namath being benched his final season with the Los Angeles Rams.
• Dan Marino losing his final game by 55 points ... in the playoffs, to boot.
Roethlisberger grew up on the 1980s generation of quarterbacks. He watched Marino rewrite the NFL record books. He watched Montana win four Super Bowls with the 49ers, Elway play in five Super Bowls and Kelly four. And he is well-versed on how each exited the game.
Roethlisberger, who holds the NFL record for most consecutive seasons played with one team, cringed earlier this week when he talked about Montana’s exit.
“I was lucky,” Roethlisberger said. “I grew up with Montana, Marino, Elway and Kelly. I think the hardest thing was watching Joe go to the Chiefs. That was really tough. But you remember Elway won his Super Bowls there at the end. You pay attention as a kid. You know what’s going on.”
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He came back this season at least in part because he didn’t want his final game to be a home playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns, who intercepted him four times in a 48-37 wild card game at Heinz Field.
All signs point to Roethlisberger retiring at season’s end, and unlike other all-time greats, he’s done nothing to damage his legacy. He will become the NFL’s fifth all-time leading passer on Sunday if he throws for 27 yards against the Titans. For the season, he’s completed 65.3% of his passes with 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Steelers remain alive for the playoffs, but they have an uphill climb. They probably have to win three of their final four games to get there.
The final month of the season begins Sunday against the AFC South-leading Titans. The Chiefs, Browns and Ravens follow.
Roethlisberger said he can’t allow himself to think about how the final chapter of his career will play out.
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m living right here and right now. We have to make a run. We have to play good football. We have to play great football. That starts with me. I can’t get caught looking at the end because I have to focus right here this week.”
Here’s a look at how the careers of some of the best quarterbacks of the Super Bowl era ended:
Johnny Unitas, Nov. 4, 1973 — After 17 seasons with the Colts that included three NFL titles and one Super Bowl victory, Unitas was traded to the Chargers in 1973. Unitas, who grew up in Brookline, started his final game against the Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. He was 2 for 9 for 19 yards with two interceptions before he was replaced by rookie Dan Fouts. His final NFL snap would come a little more than a month later when he came off the bench and threw one pass, a 7-yard completion, in a 19-0 loss to the Chiefs. In his final season, Unitas was 1-3 as a starter, completed 44.7% of his passes and threw three touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Joe Namath, Oct. 10, 1977 — After playing his first 12 seasons with the Jets, the team he famously led to a win in Super Bowl III, “Broadway Joe” went to Hollywood and signed with the Rams in May of 1977. After going 16 for 40 with four interceptions in a “Monday Night Football” contest against the Bears, Namath was benched for the remainder of the season in favor of Pat Haden. Namath completed a career-low 46.7% of his passes in his final NFL season and threw three touchdowns and five interceptions. The Rams went 10-4 during the regular season and lost their first-round playoff game to the Vikings, 14-7.
Fran Tarkenton, Dec. 31, 1978 — After squeaking into the playoffs with an 8-7-1 record, Tarkenton’s final game was a playoff contest against the Los Angeles Rams. He was intercepted twice in a 34-10 loss. He didn’t go out with a whimper. In his final NFL season, Tarkenton set career highs for completions, attempts, yards and interceptions.
Roger Staubach, Dec. 30, 1979 — After leading Dallas to three Super Bowls in the previous four seasons, Staubach led the Cowboys to an NFC East division title and a home playoff game. But Staubach lost to the upstart Rams, dropping a wild card game, 21-19, at Texas Stadium. Staubach was 12 for 28 for 124 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the loss. Other than the playoff game, Staubach was excellent in his final season, throwing 27 touchdowns to only 11 interceptions.
Bob Griese, Oct. 5, 1980 — Griese lost his starting job to Don Strock and then rookie David Woodley early in the season, but he won it back when he engineered two comeback wins for the Dolphins. In the fifth game against the Colts, Griese made his final start in a 30-17 loss. He was knocked out of the game on a hit by linebacker Mike Ozdowski. He had six touchdowns and four interceptions in his injury-shortened final season.
Terry Bradshaw, Dec. 10, 1983 — After offseason elbow surgery forced Bradshaw to miss the first 14 games of the season, he came back for the penultimate game of the season against the Jets at Shea Stadium. On a three-game losing streak, the Steelers needed a victory to secure a playoff berth, and Bradshaw threw two early touchdowns to stake the Steelers to a 14-0 lead in what became a 34-7 win. Bradshaw exited the game with elbow soreness in the first quarter after throwing a touchdown pass to Calvin Sweeney, the final pass of his career. The Steelers would go on to lose to the Raiders, 38-10, in the first round of the playoffs with Cliff Stoudt at quarterback.
Ken Stabler, Oct. 21, 1984 — After going 2 for 9 with two interceptions in a 30-27 loss to the Cowboys, “The Snake” abruptly retired a few days later. It was a sad ending to a career that spanned 15 years with the Raiders, Oilers and Saints. Stabler won Super Bowl XI in 1976 and never had a losing record as a starter with the Raiders.
Joe Montana, Dec. 31, 1994 — In an AFC wild card game against Dan Marino and the Dolphins, Montana threw for 314 yards and two touchdowns, but the Chiefs lost, 27-17, at the Orange Bowl. Montana was under contract for one more season, but he decided to retire after the game. In his final season, like Roethlisberger two years removed from a major elbow injured forced him to miss a season, Montana was 9-5 as a starter and threw 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The four-time Super Bowl champion’s final touchdown pass was completed to Kimble Anders in the first quarter of the wild- ard game.
Jim Kelly, Dec. 28, 1996 — Another Pittsburgh native had his final game end in a playoff loss. Kelly’s Bills played host to the Jaguars and lost, 30-27. He was 21 for 32 for 239 yards with one touchdown and one interception as the Jaguars scored 10 points in the final quarter to get the win. Kelly injured his knee late in the game, and backup Todd Collins had to finish.
John Elway, Jan. 31, 1999 — In quite possibly the greatest final game of a Hall of Famer’s career, Elway went out as a repeat champion after carving up the Falcons defense in Super Bowl XXXIII. He finished the game with 336 passing yards and one touchdown and one interception. After years of Super Bowl heartbreak early in his career, Elway fittingly went out as a Super Bowl champion.
Steve Young, Sept. 27, 1999 — Cardinals cornerback Aeneas Williams came in untouched on a blitz and knocked Young unconscious in the third game of the season. Young, who led the 49ers to the playoffs the previous season, would never play again. He was 13 for 23 for 92 yards with one touchdown and one interception in his final game.
Dan Marino, Jan. 15, 2000 — The Dolphins sneaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record and won an AFC wild card game in Seattle, but in a divisional round game in Jacksonville the following week, Marino was 11 for 25 with two interceptions and two fumbles lost in a 62-7 loss. The Jaguars led 38-0 before Marino completed his first pass of the game. Afterward, Marino said: “I never experienced a game like this in my life. Even as a kid, I never had a game like this.” One of the most prolific passer in NFL history, Marino finished his final season with a career-low 55.3% completion percentage with 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.
Troy Aikman, Dec. 10, 2000 — In a game against rival Washington, Aikman was knocked out of the game by linebacker LaVar Arrington. It was the 10th concussion of Aikman’s career and the end to a tumultuous final season in Dallas. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in a four-year span early in his career, was 5-9 in 2000 and finished the season with seven touchdowns and 14 interceptions. In his final game, which took place at old Texas Stadium, he was 2 for 3 for 16 before being knocked out and was replaced by Anthony Wright.
Brett Favre, Dec. 21, 2010 — In Minnesota’s first outdoor game in 29 years, due to the Metrodome ceiling collapse a week earlier, Favre was knocked to the icy turf and suffered a concussion that knocked him out of the game. It was the end to a miserable final season. The Vikings lost that game, 40-14, and finished with a 6-10 record one year after losing the NFC championship game in overtime.
Kurt Warner, Jan. 16, 2010 — One week after throwing for 379 yards and five touchdowns in an NFC wild card game against the Packers, Warner’s final game was a 45-14 loss to the Saints in the divisional round. Warner, who led the Cardinals to Super Bowl XLIII the previous season, did not throw any touchdowns and threw one interception in his final game, but his final season was terrific. He had 26 touchdowns and 14 interceptions and finished with a 10-5 record during the regular season.
Peyton Manning, Feb. 7, 2016 — Manning was benched in favor of Brock Osweiler in the middle of the season, but he regained his starting job as the Broncos earned the top seed in the AFC. They beat the Steelers and Patriots in the playoffs to earn a trip to Super Bowl 50. Manning was 13 for 23 for 141 yards and an interception in his final game, but the Broncos beat the Panthers, 24-10. One year after throwing 39 touchdowns, Manning hobbled to the finish. He threw only nine touchdowns and had 17 interceptions in his final season.
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