Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers has been one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL over the past two decades. Amid speculation that he plans to retire after this season, he shared his heart after what may have been his final home game.
The Steelers defeated Cleveland 26-14, with Roethlisberger completing 24 of 46 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown. Roethlisberger ended the game on the field in a victory formation after the defense intercepted a Cleveland pass.
“I didn’t think I was gonna take the field again,” he said after the game. “But it’s the best play in football when you’re an offensive player to take a knee, and so I’m glad I got to do it one last time. I’m just so thankful for the fans — my family, obviously. The good Lord has blessed me in so many ways. We’ve still got another game. We will be excited and ready to go for that. But this is just an awesome place.”
Roethlisberger has opened up about his faith in recent years.
“Three years ago I got baptized,” he said during a June 2020 ManUp Conference, according to Sports Spectrum. “I was baptized as a kid; my parents took me as a baby. But I didn’t make that decision. So three years ago now, I made the decision to be baptized because I felt like I needed to do that. 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.”
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice