Pittsburgh Steelers: Ranking the 10 best players of the past decade

1. Ben Roethlisberger, QB

Ben Roethlisberger joined the Steelers in 2004 when the team drafted him with the 11th overall pick. Simply put, without Roethlisberger, the Steelers do not win Super Bowls during the 2005 and 2008 seasons. The team also needed Big Ben to make the Super Bowl in 2010.

While Roethlisberger’s postseason play is somewhat questionable, he became the team’s leader after the latest rendition of the franchise’s legendary defense disintegrated in the early 2010s. Pittsburgh transitioned from a defensive team to an offensive team with Roethlisberger at its core.

During the 2010s, Roethlisberger made five of his six career Pro Bowls. When he started, the team went 84-45-1. Under his leadership, the team only missed the playoff three times (not counting 2019). Roethlisberger and Tomlin rank among the top five duos for wins by a coach-QB combo.

In terms of individual statistics, Roethlisberger led the NFL in passing yards per game three times and total passing yards twice during the past decade. He amassed 3,125 completions, 37,243 yards and 236 touchdowns, and currently sits in the top 10 of all-time for pass attempts, completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

When Roethlisberger landed on IR after two weeks in 2019, Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl hopes crumbled. Devlin Hodges and Mason Rudolph failed to replace even a small percentage of Roethlisberger’s production. Hopefully, the future Hall of Famer can resurrect Pittsburgh’s offense for one final Super Bowl push in 2020.