Ben Roethlisberger's stint as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers may end against the Baltimore Ravens. As Big Ben approaches retirement, it will be his last time playing the hated rival that put up tough fights for his entire career.
Roethlisberger looked back fondly on the rivalry. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs and other former Baltimore defenders told their side of the story to Jamison Hensley of ESPN.
Lewis said that Baltimore realized that Roethlisberger was a force to be reckoned with in his very first game.
“When Ben came in, we were like, ‘Whew, OK,' Ben is not your 6-foot-1 quarterback. Ben is big [6-feet-5]. And the first thing we said was we have to get this guy to the ground. Don’t hug around his shoulder pads and think you got him down, right? And then I think the first couple series we realized that, wait a minute, it's going to take more than just one person to actually get him down.”
Suggs joked that Ravens cornerback Gary Baxter did Steelers fans a favor by injuring Pittsburgh quarterback Tommy Maddox, whose injury gave Roethlisberger his first opportunity to play. He added that Roethlisberger's legacy is raising the abilities of his opponents, not just his teammates.
“He's one of those rare players that raised the level of not only the players around him, but the players that played against him. You couldn't have a bad game and thought you were going to win against him. You couldn't make mistakes and think you were going to win. He was always going to compete and he was always going to try to make a play. That's going to be his legacy.”
As the Steelers-Ravens rivalry enters a new chapter, its history will always be what people remember about it.
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