THE BIG BROMANCE
Brady & Roethlisberger’s lovefest takes break at kickoff of AFC title game tonight
The presence of Tom Brady has melted even Ben Roethlisberger into a fan before.
Ahead of the Steelers’ regular-season game against New England on Oct. 23, cameras caught the two quarterbacks talking during warmups.
“Hey, listen, I’ve never done this before, but I would love to get a jersey at some point,” Roethlisberger said to Brady.
Brady said he would oblige, and this week, with the two squaring off in the AFC Championship Game, Roethlisberger confirmed that his request was indeed fulfilled.
“I have it hanging in my office,” Roethlisberger said this week. “I have a lot of respect for him, I think that’s very well known. I think he’s one of, if not the, greatest quarterbacks of all time. It’s been a honor to play against him, to call him a competitor. So I put it up in my office with the likes of the Marinos, and Elways and Kellys and things like that.”
If he sounds like a fanboy it’s hard to blame him.
Sure, Roethlisberger has plenty of credentials. Five-time Pro Bowler. Two Super Bowl rings.
But as good as Big Ben’s career may be or as good as he is, Tom Brady is in an entirely different class.
It’s fair to characterize Sunday’s AFC Championship Game as a great quarterback showdown. But it’s unfair to call it even remotely even. Brady is a 12-time Pro Bowler, was named a first-team All-Pro twice who has been to the AFC Championship Game now six seasons in a row. Oh, and he has four rings. Yeah, his legacy isn’t quite being matched in this one.
But what also separates these two quarterbacks, besides history, is that Brady played at a top-notch level this season and Roethlisberger, quite frankly, did not.
Brady, in his 12 post-suspension games this season, threw for a passer rating of 112.2 and a QBR of 83.1, putting himself in the MVP discussion despite having missed the first four games. Roethlisberger, meanwhile, fell short of those numbers, reaching a 95.4 passer rating and a 66.6 QBR. Good compared against an average quarterback, but not good relative to Brady.
And it’s worth noting that the Steelers’ quarterback had the best wide receiver in the game and arguably the best running back — who is also a good receiver — at his disposal as well. Brady has mostly been paired with Julian Edelman, Martellus Bennett and a bunch of lesser receivers and still made magic happen.
Even if they aren’t quite the same caliber of quarterback, they are two of the league’s best quarterbacks. And they each recognized that.
“Well, Ben is an incredible player, and he’s been that way since 2004 when he came into the league. I’ve always loved the way he plays, very tough, hard-nosed. He’s great for the city of Pittsburgh — a very tough, hard-nosed city,” Brady said. “I think the respect is very mutual. To play at his level for as long as he has and with his style of play has been remarkable.”
The two QBs showed that mutual respect even when they didn’t know the cameras were rolling back in October. When Roethlisberger asked for Brady’s jersey, he noted, “There’s not many that I want.”
“I feel the same way,” Brady responded.
On that day, Roethlisberger was injured and didn’t play, robbing us of a clash of two champions. The Steelers’ QB lamented the fact that he wasn’t playing, but also added, “Hopefully we’ll see you again.”
On Sunday, he gets his wish.