Haden Bests Brady: That and More Underrated Heinz Field Moments

Ben Roethlisberger the back-up

The year is actually 2015, and yes Ben Roethlisberger was the back-up for a game that season. Coming off a 38-35 win over the Oakland Raiders Ben didn’t really practice much throughout the week after suffering a foot injury late in the win. With the two-win Browns on the horizon, Tomlin saw no reason to rush back his QB, so he gave the start to Landry Jones. 

Tomlin did, likely with some pushing from Ben himself, make Ben active for this one, effectively making him the back-up for one game. 

This matchup with Cleveland was Landy Jones’ second career start, but he found his day quickly over. After playing just two drives Landry Jones went down with a foot injury of his own.

Enter back-up Ben Roethlisberger. 

When he entered the game the Steelers were tied with the Johnny Manziel Browns 3-3. When things were all said and done Ben was taking a knee with a 30-9 lead on the scoreboard. 

Roethlisberger set a record for the most passing yards in a game from a player coming off the bench with his 379-yard day, and his 3 touchdowns have him tied for second place for QBs coming off the bench. 

Both Martavis Bryant and Antonio Brown had big days in this one, with them having 178 and 139 yards respectively. Brown also found the endzone 3 times for two touchdowns and a two-point conversion. 

On the defensive side for the Steelers they sacked Money Manziel 6 times, and bonus points to Jarvis Jones who had half a sack in this one. 

Also of slight interest the Browns receiving core had TV personality Andrew Hawkins and current Ohio State coach Brian Hartline playing in this one, which just feels strange to say. 

After his rookie year there weren’t very many scenarios in which Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t the starter for the Steelers, but for one day in 2015 Ben had to play the role of the back-up, and it lasted for less than a quarter. 

Antonio Brown’s helmet catch

When it comes to playoff moments against the Ravens most Steelers fans will probably think of Troy Polamalu’s incredible pick-six in the AFC Championship game. One moment that doesn’t get remembered nearly as much as it should is Antonio Brown’s helmet catch in the 2010 playoffs.

Up to this point, Antonio Brown hadn’t been used much in an offense that still featured Hines Ward, Mike Wallace, and Antwaan Randel El. His only trip to the endzone came on a kickoff return. 

When the Steelers found themselves in a 3rd and 19 situation Antonio Brown was on the field. It wasn’t just any regular 3rd and long either. This was a tied game, against Baltimore, in the playoffs, with just two minutes left. 

The three-man rush gave Ben enough time to make his decision, and as Brown outran his defender Ben chucked the ball 56 yards down the field to the sixth-round pick. 

When Ben called his number Antonio Brown was ready to make one of the earliest of many big-time plays he made during his time with the Steelers. Unable to get two hands on the ball Brown did what he could, using one hand to pin the ball against his helmet, completing the catch. 

After four plays went nowhere, Rashard Mendenhall found the endzone to give the Steelers the lead. Once the Ravens got the ball back the Steelers defense did their job and sent the Steelers onto the next round. 

We won’t talk about how this playoff run ended, after all, it wasn’t at Heinz Field. 

James Harrison beats up Baltimore

There were plenty of all-time performances at Heinz Field, just look at some of Ben’s stats when he put on the bumblebee jerseys. One that sticks out was a performance from James Harrison against the Ravens, and for this one, we go back to 2007. 

The Steelers entered this contest at 5--2, ready for another physical contest against the Ravens on MNF. 

Instead, the Steelers had a dominant performance in a 38-7 win. Ben Roethlisberger threw 5 touchdowns in this win, but even that was overshadowed by the truly monster performance from James Harrison. 

Against Steve McNair and the Ravens, Harrison was dominant. He finished with 10 tackles, 9 of which were solo, 3 tackles for loss, 6 quarterback hits, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 3.5 sacks, and an interception. 

Under the lights and with the yellow throwback helmet on James Harrison turned into a completely unblockable monster and put up one of the best stat lines that Heinz Field ever saw. 

Conclusion

While we’ll all miss Heinz Field all we can do is remember the good times, and hope that Kenny Pickett and these new Steelers create an entirely new list of incredible moments at Acrisure Stadium. 

Getting a hold of one of those giant ketchup bottles wouldn’t hurt either.