Ben Roethlisberger On Pace to Be Sacked 59 Times, Will He Last Nine More Weeks?

Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

As most of you have witnessed, Ben Roethlisberger has taken quite the beating through the first seven regular season games. The fact that “Big Ben” has been hit and harassed so often this fall is nothing new, especially when one considers that he had already been sacked 344 times entering this year.

From his injury-plagued offensive line being littered with backups and underachievers, to his penchant for holding onto the ball to making plays, to the fact that his team is so far behind in games that he must go to the pass early, Pittsburgh’s signal-caller could be sacked a personal-record of times this fall.

Roethlisberger has been sacked 26 times through Pittsburgh’s first seven contests, and he is on pace to be dropped a total of 59 times by the time the 2013 campaign is finished.

Of course, the projected statistic implies that “Big Ben” is able to suit up and play in his team’s final nine regular season games.

It would be a miracle of sorts if Roethlisberger is able to start the rest of the Steelers’ regular season contests with the way he has been pummeled this year.

In fact, “Big Ben” has only started 16 regular season games once during his professional career (2008). While four games of his 2010 season were erased due to a suspension and Tommy Maddox started three games in 2004, Roethlisberger has missed chunks of time (14 starts) in seven other seasons due to various injuries to his knee, shoulder, head, chest, etc..

At 2-5 the 2013 regular season is already “lost” for the Steelers. The only thing which could be a “cherry” on top of their “crap-laden sundae” of a year would be a long-term injury to their franchise quarterback. With the way that the offensive line has protected him this year, Roethlisberger could be running for his life during the next nine weeks simply to stay on the field.