Ben Roethlisberger was the final Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a recreation earlier than Russell Wilson did it for the Steelers on Sunday towards the Cincinnati Bengals. So it’s becoming that Wilson heard from Roethlisberger after the 44-38 Steelers win. On the most recent episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger mentioned he texted Wilson after the Steelers’ Week 13 win.
“I texted Russ, ‘Great recreation, method to play.’ I imply, profession recreation. That was a lot enjoyable to look at. It seemed like he was simply doing no matter he wished to.”
Wilson threw for 414 yards, probably the most since Roethlisberger towards the Denver Broncos in 2018, and he threw for 3 touchdowns, giving him ten in a season, a quantity a Steelers quarterback hasn’t reached since Roethlisberger retired. While Roethlisberger spent his entire profession with the Steelers and Wilson is becoming a member of the group late in his profession, he’s having an affect at quarterback that the Steelers haven’t seen because the finish of Roethlisberger’s profession. While part of that reveals the futility of Pittsburgh’s offense underneath Kenny Pickett (and Matt Canada didn’t do them any favors, both), it additionally speaks to how nicely Wilson has performed.
While the offense has generally felt reliant on Wilson’s deep ball, that wasn’t the case on Sunday. The Steelers have been in a position to decide aside the Bengals’ protection, with 4 gamers having over 50 receiving yards and 10 gamers catching passes. Most of the work was carried out beneath, with Jaylen Warren and Najee Harris getting concerned as receivers out of the backfield, and Wilson confirmed poise to assist Pittsburgh have their finest offensive output in years.
Roethlisberger has maintained a semi-close relationship with the Steelers since his retirement, together with his podcast centered on the group (though it’s increasing towards speaking concerning the NFL as a complete). He nonetheless has relationships with gamers on the group with whom he performed. He has additionally constructed relationships with guys who joined the Steelers after him, particularly within the quarterback place. He is aware of Wilson as the 2 competed towards one another. Still, he additionally cultivated a relationship with Pickett, who was a visitor on his podcast earlier than final season and who was imagined to be the inheritor obvious to Roethlisberger.
Given that Roethlisberger was actually the final nice quarterback this group had and clearly their most up-to-date quarterback to win a Super Bowl, it’s good that he’s staying related and providing encouragement and reward when it’s due. While Wilson has gained a Super Bowl and been within the league a very long time and doesn’t want to listen to from Roethlisberger when he’s had a great recreation, it’s a pleasant gesture, and I’m certain it feels good for Wilson to be appreciated by a group legend.
