Ben Roethlisberger plans to resist temptation to match throws with Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes

Ben Roethlisberger’s memories from the only time he went head-to-head against Patrick Mahomes are a little foggy.

Perhaps with good reason.

It came in the second game of the 2018 season. After an unexpected 21-21 tie to open the season at Cleveland, the Pittsburgh Steelers opened their home schedule against Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.

It was the third career NFL start for the former first-round pick out of Texas Tech, and the game served as a springboard to an MVP season. Mahomes threw six touchdown passes and had 326 yards passing as the Chiefs outlasted the Steelers, 42-37.

Roethlisberger held his own, completing 39 of 60 passes – the second-most attempts of his career – for 452 yards and three touchdowns. Neither quarterback threw an interception, but Roethlisberger couldn’t get the win, which he covets more than any stat.

“I don’t remember anything from that game specifically,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday, “but I think from Day 1, we all saw how special of a player (Mahomes) had the potential to be and has proven to be. Some of the stuff he does is pretty amazing.”

It has taken three-plus years for Roethlisberger to get his rematch — almost certainly the last one of his career unless there is a return engagement in the postseason.

In that time, Mahomes not only earned the MVP award in 2018, he took the Chiefs to the Super Bowl the next two seasons, winning one and losing one. The Chiefs are 48-12 in games Mahomes has started, and they take a seven-game winning streak into the game Sunday against the Steelers at Arrowhead Stadium.

If Roethlisberger has learned anything from watching Mahomes and the Chiefs’ high-octane offense, it’s not to try to get into a shootout. The Steelers, for starters, no longer have the same caliber of star playmakers.

While Pat Freiermuth’s career at tight end has gotten off to an impressive start, the Chiefs counter with Travis Kelce, who has reached 1,000 receiving yards for the sixth consecutive season with three games to play. The Steelers have Diontae Johnson, who reached 1,000 receiving yards for the first time Sunday, but the Chiefs have Tyreek Hill, who has done it four times in the past five seasons.

Roethlisberger will resist the temptation to have the Steelers try to keep up with the Kelces, Hills and Mahomeses.

“For sure, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do when you watch an offense like that,” he said. “Taking care of the ball is obviously huge, not turning it over. We did that last week, which is the key to victory. We cannot turn it over if we can try.

“Even with a team like (the Chiefs), you say, ‘OK, if you possess the ball, it helps.’ But they can actually score really fast and do some amazing things.”

Given that the Steelers haven’t scored a first-half touchdown in the past four games, it’s unlikely they could match the Chiefs point for point. On the other hand, Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to 81 fourth-quarter points over the past five games, proving he doesn’t quit no matter the deficit.

“Ben is a winner, a future Hall of Famer,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “You saw him this past week and what he did there. We’ve got to be prepared for playing one of the best ever. That’s how we approach it.”

Mahomes might yet become one of the best ever, too, but he showed mortality early in the season. After throwing 11 interceptions – combined – in the 2019-20 seasons, he threw nine in the first seven games as the Chiefs got off to a 3-4 start.

Since then, he’s gotten the Chiefs back to their customary spot atop the AFC.

“Every quarterback goes through that somewhere in their career,” Reid said. “I’ve been around some good ones. Not every game is going to be the perfect game. You have to power through it, and the great ones do that. They power through it, work on whatever they need to work on and trust themselves and their teammates that it’s going to work out.”