During the Steelers 3-20 routing by the New England Patriots, one play became a viral hit: the Patriots’ defense absolutely rocked quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He had no chance of keeping the ball in his possession, and it went flying out of his hands. Ben Roethlisberger also had a similarly nasty hit during his early career.
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Ben Roethlisberger was asked to recall if he’d ever taken a similarly rough hit. And like every Steeler fan who grew up watching him play, he was taken back to that 2006 game against the Baltimore Ravens. Bart Scott took Roethlisberger down, and it had the former QB questioning reality.
“I remember laying there thinking ‘I don’t know if I’m alive or not,'” Big Ben said on his podcast. “It was the most painful thing. And I’m just laying there like, ‘Okay like yeah am I breathing’, like I thought that my soul was leaving the body and so that’s what it reminded me of.”
During a second-and-8 drive by Pittsburgh late in the second quarter of the game, the Ravens’ defense executed a blitz scheme that sent pass rushers to create pressure on Roethlisberger, who was banking on Willie Parker blocking Scott.
“Willie Parker was in the game. And I remember dropping back the pass and Willie was supposed to pick up Bart Scott who was coming off the right side for my front side. And so I was like, ‘Okay, Willy’s picking him up.’ And I remember looking left and next thing you know everything went to slow motion,” the legendary QB recounted.
However, Parker shifted the wrong way and failed to block the Baltimore Ravens linebacker, leaving the Steelers quarterback completely unguarded. Scott launched himself at Roethlisberger, who didn’t even have time to process what was happening. The linebacker slammed him onto the turf, knocking the air out of them and leaving him temporarily unable to move.
Based on what Scott had to say about that takedown, it is clear why Roethlisberger still feels the hit to this day.
“I couldn’t wait to knock that smile off his smug face,” the former linebacker said in 2024. “No one has taken more from the Ravens than Ben Roethlisberger. It was our time to get some get-back.
“The greatest moment was watching him sit there and squirm and kick his feet out. “… I’m glad that every time the Ravens see that flashback they know that I decapitated him and took his soul.”
The overall memory of the game couldn’t have been too pleasant either, since the Ravens defense sacked him a total of nine times and forced two interceptions. The game ended with Baltimore shutting Pittsburgh out completely, winning 27-0.
The Steelers-Ravens rivalry only flared up, but that moment was only telling of what both players were capable of. Roethlisberger was down for a few minutes and sat out for only one play. He returned and kept fighting, even though it went all in vain. Scott would go on to record his best numbers ever: 103 total tackles, 9.5 sacks, two interceptions, and 20 quarterback hits.
Even though Scott knew how much Baltimore hated Roethlisberger and the Steelers, he did admire one trait about the QB.
“He was a guy that was always a willing brawler – twisted noses, broken bones,” he said, when Ben Roethlisberger was going to play his last regular-season game. “He’s the Michael Myers of football. It’s almost hard for me to believe that this could be his last game because Michael Myers has always played that game. You thought you killed him, you think you knocked him out of the game; he may lay there, but he usually gets back up. If this is the last time Ben Roethlisberger gets back up, all I can say is job well done and respect.”
Twenty years later, Roethlisberger saw the same experience reflected in a hit absorbed by a veteran Aaron Rodgers. It looked very ugly, considering the fact that the latter is 42; Big Ben was still in his 20s when he took the hit.
Roethlisberger could come back after the play, but Aaron Rodgers is going to feel that blow for some time.