Ben Roethlisberger looks back, then looks ahead to final matchup against Ravens

Ben Roethlisberger allowed himself one more chance to look back at what he called a “magical” night at Heinz Field before he looked ahead to unfinished business for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

On his day off Tuesday, Roethlisberger continued to soak in the reception he received a night earlier when he played the final home game of his 18-year career.

“It was still pretty special,” Roethlisberger said when he met with the media Wednesday morning. “Then, you get up and realize what this week is. It’s Baltimore week and that makes it fun.”

Roethlisberger took a moment to reflect on the countless texts, phone calls and social media messages he received from friends, former teammates and fans.

“Surreal,” Roethlisberger said. “I felt so much love and we’re so thankful. … It’s really hard to put into words. Like I said after the game, I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever. One of the most special things about the night is my kids are old enough to remember it.

“It was something I’ll cherish it forever, and I think they will too. I can’t say enough ‘Thank yous’ to all the people that made that night so special.”

Roethlisberger did his part in helping the Steelers to a 26-14 victory against Cleveland that kept their playoff hopes alive heading into the season finale against the Ravens. The Steelers (8-7-1) need a win and some help from 2-14 Jacksonville to have a shot at returning to the playoffs.

Roethlisberger noted that his career has come full circle. His first NFL appearance took place in Baltimore in the second week of the 2004 season when he entered in relief of an injured Tommy Maddox and faced the likes of Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis on defense.

His career will wind down Sunday at the same venue in one of the NFL’s most spirited rivalries. The Ravens are bringing back Suggs, who last played in 2019, as the Legend of the Game for the occasion.

“You never walk out of one of these games feeling fresh,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s fitting. You go to a place that’s tricky to play, it’s loud and the fans are passionate. They always play really well. It’s never an easy football game.”

Roethlisberger has a career 16-10 record against the Ravens, his fewest wins against AFC North opponents. He is only 5-5 in games played at M&T Bank Stadium, needing wins in his past three starts there to get to .500. His last loss in Baltimore was in 2016.

“He’s been the straw that has stirred the drink there for almost two decades,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “It’s been 14 years for me to figure out a way to stop him and slow him down and have him not make plays. It’s been very defining.”

Roethlisberger said the Steelers can’t get caught up in scoreboard watching. The Jaguars host the Indianapolis Colts (9-7) at the same time the Steelers-Ravens kick off. If both scenarios fall in the Steelers’ favor, they would have to wait until the conclusion of the Sunday night game — it cannot end in a tie — before a playoff berth becomes official.

“We have to focus on us. That has to be our No. 1 focus — winning the football game,” he said. “Nothing happens if we don’t. That will be 99.9% of our focus. Because we’re human, we’re probably going to be peeking, but we have to win our football game first.”

The Steelers were in a similar situation in 2019, without Roethlisberger, when they headed to Baltimore for the season finale. Like this season, they didn’t control their playoff fate. They needed to beat the Ravens with “Duck” Hodges at quarterback and get help from Houston against Tennessee.

The Steelers lost 28-10 to render the second part of the equation moot. The Texans didn’t help matters, anyhow, losing 35-14 to the Titans.

“I remember the last time,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “It was not a good feeling. That game was pretty depressing. It was raining, a lot of things went wrong. Our job is to make sure that when we look at the scoreboard, we see our score and we’re winning, and we’ll take it from there.”