Ben Roethlisberger, Baker Mayfield by the numbers: Steelers & Browns QBs make history in crime light game

The “Monday Night Football” final game of the regular 2021 NFL season was exactly what was most anticipated. The Steelers and Browns went into the classic AFC North battle against Pittsburgh, winning 26-14 thanks to a solid defensive display and a superb dribble from rookie running behind Najee Harris.

All eyes were on Ben Roethlisberger in this game, as the Steelers’ long-time quartet played in what many believed to be his last home game. Big Ben featured in Pittsburgh’s game plan and won, but even he admitted it wasn’t a pretty game.

“You know what, it’s funny because [it] probably [didn’t go] The Way You Want Beyond Winning,” Roethlisberger spoke about the team’s performance in a post-game interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters. That’s all that really matters. That’s the story of my career. It’s not always pretty, but we find a way. “

Indeed, Roethlisberger had his share of struggles throughout the competition, but he was confronted by Browns midfielder Baker Mayfield across the field. In fact, when you break the numbers down, the two combine for one of the worst quarterfinals of the 2021 NFL season.

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Ben Roethlisberger stats vs. Browns

Roethlisberger wasn’t particularly bad against the Browns. He’s not particularly good either.

The 39-year-old hasn’t been able to get off the field much – a problem that has limited Steel Man’s offensive ability for the past two seasons – so he has had to deal with a lot of times. As a result, he only hit 123 passes while completing 24 of 46 passes for a touchdown and interception.

Roethlisberger averaged just 2.67 yards per pass attempt despite pitching a lot. How bad is that? His mark is the second-worst in NFL history for a quarterback to throw more than 40 passes behind only Jesse Palmer. Roethlisberger is only the fourth player in NFL history to throw more than 40 times in a game and finish with yards per attempt under 3.

Incredibly, Roethlisberger’s 34 passes came before halftime but he still couldn’t get 100 yards in those efforts. That marks the first time in 40 years, according to ESPN Statistics & Information.

Roethlisberger also posted a passer rating of just 56.2 in Sunday’s game, marking the 15th worst rating in his 246 career starts. This is also his lowest since he posted 37.8 in a five-intercept game against the Jaguars in October 2017.

Interestingly, Roethlisberger’s 6.5-yard average target depth isn’t the lowest of his 2021 season. According to PFF, Roethlisberger’s lowest ADOT was at Week 15 against the Titans, with a score of 5.0.

So while Roethlisberger took the win, he certainly had a tough outing, as he pointed out. However, he is arguably playing better than Mayfield, who had one of his worst games as a professional.

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Baker Mayfield stats vs. Steelers

Mayfield completed his first pass against the Steelers for Jarvis Landry. It went 20 yards. Then things went awry.

Each of Mayfield’s next 10 passes failed to complete, marking the longest run of incomplete runs since 2019, according to ESPN. He had trouble getting the ball past the Steelers defence, the Steelers defense knocking out three passes, while his receivers scored a few. He also hit an intercept in the streak where he didn’t see David Njoku break through and tried to force it on Donovan Pe People’s-Jones.

Mayfield will eventually overtake it a bit, but he still only completed 42.1% of his passes against Pittsburgh. That’s good for the 12th-worst finish rate among quarterbacks starting this year, and the second-worst mark of Mayfield’s NFL career. He also became the first quartet since 2017 to have five assists while being sacked on the previous five.

Speaking of sacks, Mayfield was fired 9 times in this competition. That’s the result for the most games in a single game this season against Justin Fields. The fault for that was partly down to Mayfield’s attack line – in particular, James Hudson’s handling, who let in five pressurization and three sieges on Monday – but Mayfield should have freed the ball too. faster.

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The final stats on Mayfield don’t look so terrible. He completed 16 of 38 185-meter passes, two touchdowns and two interceptions. However, he only scored a rating of 53.1 passers, the fourth-worst mark of his career and averaged just 4.9 yards per pass attempt. That number is better than Roethlisberger’s total, but it’s not enough to save passersby from making questionable history with their performance.

Apparently, Mayfield was hurt. He has faced a number of injuries throughout the year, the most notable of which was a tear in his non-throwing shoulder. It was a tough outing, though, and that’s what allowed Roethlisberger and Steelers to keep the Browns at arm’s length for most of the evening.