Ben Roethlisberger proved once again last Sunday in Cleveland that he’s terrible on the road. Right?
Not so fast there.
Roethlisberger did not play well in Cleveland as his five turnovers will attest, along with his 60.5 passer rating. There have been other road games in which he’s been awful and even some seasons in which he played better at home than on the road.
But guess what? Last season was not really one of them, nor has his career been so black and white, good versus bad at home versus road when compared to what other quarterbacks do away and home.
Last regular season, Roethlisberger had a 94.8 passer rating at home and the Steelers were 5-2 in those games. He had a 91.7 rating on the road, when his team went 7-1. There is no appreciable difference in the rating, but there is in the record, which was better on the road.
Of those quarterbacks still on NFL rosters who have played in at least 50 games, Roethlisberger ranks seventh with a passer rating of 88.7 on the road, which is not appreciably different from those ranked above him except for the top two — Tom Brady at 98.9 and Aaron Rodgers at 98.7.
Or let’s let win-lost percentage record be our guide, which really is the most important statistic. Among quarterbacks with 20 or more career decisions on their regular and postseason record, Roethlisberger ranks second at 67-43-1 on the road, according to the Football Database. Only Brady has more wins and a better percentage at 96-41-0.
Drew Brees? He’s 66-65-1. Aaron Rodgers is 43-39, and Eli Manning 59-56. At least those three have winning records on the road. Most quarterbacks do not, even Philip Rivers at 47-54 and Joe Flacco at 42-48.
“Honestly, to me it’s about winning a football game,” Roethlisberger said Thursday. “I don’t care what my stats are ever; if I can go win a football game, that’s all that matters. Winning is the only stat I care about.”
Roethlisberger really has had four seasons among his past 14 in which he was appreciably better at home than on the road.
The first was 2006, the year of his motorcycle accident and appendectomy. He had a 69.7 rating away (and a 3-5 record), 82.0 at home (4-3). In 2011 he was 77.5 away (5-3), 107.1 at home (6-1). In 2015 it was 86.0 away (3-3) and 102.4 home (5-1). And in 2016 it was 78.4 away (5-3) and 116.7 at home (5-1).
It’s really been over the seasons of 2015 and 2016 where this home-away discrepancy theory took root. Before that, he had ratings over 90 on the road in seven seasons, over 100 in four and had a better road passer rating than at home in four seasons.
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