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Ben Roethlisberger in his probably last NFL game: Most recently he seemed slow and stiff
Photo:
Colin E Braley/AP
After all, the last seconds of this game belonged to Ben Roethlisberger again.
But on closer inspection they revealed the full tragedy of a player who used to be a man for spectacles but was forced to mutate into a pragmatist.
Early Monday morning the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Kansas City Chiefs were 9:42 in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh's football quarterback, stood on the field.
He used to decide games with almost impossible scenes.
In the 2006 Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, he fell headlong into the end zone at 23 and led his team to their first title since 1979. Three years later, at 26 and also in the NFL Finals, he fired an unforgettable pass in just 38 seconds on the game clock to the far corner of the end zone, which meant the win against the Arizona Cardinals.
Thanks to these moments, Roethlisberger was nicknamed "Big Ben".
But now, against Kansas City, he seemed small.
All was already lost.
Roethlisberger threw a short pass to his teammate, the ball landed but didn't bring any more points.
Pittsburgh lost, eliminated from the playoffs.
And the career of one of football's best quarterbacks may end quietly.
Ben Roethlisberger is now 39 years old.
Football has worn his body down over the years.
After a lot of hardships with up to 50 sacks per season, Roethlisberger could hardly throw or run spectacularly at the end.
The Steelers might even have had what it takes to make the next round of the playoffs -- the aging Ben Roethlisberger didn't have it.
Rape allegations against the star quarterback
His memorial, however, had already suffered serious damage.
He was accused of rape twice.
In 2008, he allegedly molested a hotel worker in Nevada.
In the summer of 2009, the woman made the allegations public, a few months after the Steelers' second Super Bowl triumph with Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger denied the allegations, more than three years later there was an out-of-court settlement.
In 2010, allegations were made again that Roethlisberger allegedly abused a student at a Georgia club.
No charges were brought due to a lack of DNA evidence, and Roethlisberger again denied everything.
The then 28-year-old sat out four games for violations of the NFL's code of conduct.
At the time, the renowned US sports magazine »Sports Illustrated« published a cover story about Roethlisberger, entitled »The Hangover«.
It painted a devastating picture of an arrogant, privileged sports star who believes he can do almost anything with his entourage.
“Do you even know who I am?” According to Sports Illustrated, that was Roethlisberg's standard saying.
His advisors told the magazine at the time that the events were a wake-up call after Roethlisberger got too caught up in the role of "Big Ben".
The superstar worked on an image change, married, had children and suddenly spoke publicly about his religious beliefs.
When the throwing power diminished
In terms of sport, he has not been the same in recent years.
Marked by injuries, his game developed backwards.
Among other things, he lost throwing power due to an elbow injury.
Roethlisberger became slow and stiff.
He looked like a knight in rusty armor now.
This is also shown by his data: while his successful throws in 2010 still brought an average gain of 13.3 yards, this has increasingly decreased: in 2016 it was only 11.6 yards, and in 2021 it was only 9.6 yards.
Judging by the distance Roethlisberger's passes were in the air, only Jared Goff of the long-uncompetitive Detroit Lions has come up short this season.
Roethlisberger changed his game.
He became pragmatic and wanted to surprise the opponents with so-called quick passes.
Nobody threw the ball faster after the handover.
But that didn't help his team.
As a result, the Steelers' offensive became less flexible and more predictable.
Still, Pittsburgh stuck with Roethlisberger and Roethlisberger with his dream of a third title.
In the meantime he had already become a laughingstock on the internet.
A video of a game scene in which Roethlisberger throws the ball, runs and falls to the ground without touching the opponent went viral: "Big Ben is as agile as a tree," it said.
The end was near.
No official career end
Strong defense alone ensured that the Steelers made the playoffs by surprise in a crazy season finale in which the Indianapolis Colts lost their playoff spot to the Steelers after a loss to the league's worst team, Jacksonville.
Roethlisberger had already said goodbye to the fans in his stadium.
After the game against Kansas, Ben Roethlisberger was asked whether he was looking forward to the time after his career.
He smiled.
He has not officially ended his career yet.
He didn't do that even after the end of the season.
"I'm nervous," was all Roethlisberger said.
The transition from one phase of life to the other becomes interesting.
But when that will be exactly, he did not say.
After 18 years of professional football, saying goodbye is difficult.
Even if it started a few years ago.
