The 2020 Pittsburgh Steelers have done something that no other team in the history of the storied franchise has ever managed to accomplish: begin a season 8-0.
Led by head coach Mike Tomlin and veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh has since gone on to improve to 11-0 going into Monday’s game against Washington.
The Steelers remain the league’s only undefeated team.
A big reason why they were able to stay unblemished is because of the play of the 38-year-old Roethlisberger.
Yet in a postgame press conference, Roethlisberger was sure to compliment the resilience and effort of his teammates multiple times.
“I can’t say enough about the skill guys,” he said, “the way that they’re able to do things on the fly, and the line blocking, and I’m just really proud of everybody.”
Later, he added, “I don’t want to let [my teammates] down. So I want to give everything I have and fight.”
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In 2019, Roethlisberger suffered a right elbow injury in Week 2 and missed the remainder of the season. He’s opened up more since his return about how his perspective has changed throughout his career and the greater purpose he seeks to live for every day. In June, Roethlisberger was asked about his faith in Jesus.
“Three years ago now I made the decision to be baptized because I felt like I needed to do that,” he said. “I wanted to have a closer walk, a better relationship with Jesus, with my wife, with my kids, with my family — become a better person. So I think the person that brought me to Him was Jesus. Jesus is the One who brought me back to Him, and I’m so thankful for it because I feel I’m a better Christian, a better husband and a better father today because of His forgiveness of me.”
Later, he added, “One of the things that I want to tell guys and tell people out there is that I could be a really good athlete and a Christian. It’s not one or the other. You can do both. I want that to be known, especially to all you young men out there. It’s cool to be a Christian and be an athlete. Go ahead and be the best athlete you can possibly be, and see if you can be a better Christian.
“That’s what I’m trying to do now. I’m trying to be a better Christian than I am athlete and football player.”
Since then, the Steelers quarterback has expanded on his faith journey on the Table Forty podcast in July and in the Fall 2020 issue of the Sports Spectrum Magazine.
“I didn’t necessarily go away from my faith; I always believed,” Roethlisberger said on the podcast. “I didn’t lose my faith in Him, but I didn’t grow. I didn’t grow as a Christian in college, and I wish more than anything I would have. I wish I would have been on the path of growth and trying to get closer to Him all through college because I can only imagine where I’d be now if I would have done that.”
So even as Roethlisberger has fought hard to come back from injury at this late stage of his career and lead his team to a 11-0 start, he knows he can rest in Jesus, who has always guided his life and brought him into a deeper relationship with Him.
–sportsspectrum.com