Note: This article was written prior to the Steeler’s game against the Broncos on Sunday.

The year is upon us, the last we will see of “Big Ben” Roethlisberger. The two-time Super Bowl winner, six-time Pro-Bowler’s time has seemed to finally come to an end. After an atrocious start to the year, his Steelers sit at the bottom of the AFC North, with a 1-3 overall record.

Roethlisberger returned to the Steelers this past offseason, taking a pay cut to stay with the team. After a tragic loss to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card in January, the chances of Roethlisberger returning to the steelers were slim, as the QB1 underperformed last year for the team. However, GM Kevin Colbert brought back the 39-year-old franchise QB for one last ride. The Pittsburgh Steelers made many off-season moves in addition to bringing him back, most notably, drafting running back Najee Harris from Alabama in the first round of the draft. The season outlook was not bad at all, especially after a shocking win in week 1 after defeating the Buffalo Bills. Roethlisberger had a pretty impactful game in the victory, throwing for 188 yards and 1 touchdown. The season was looking bright. The offense looked new and improved, and the defense was firing on all cylinders as usual. In the coming weeks, however, the truth of Ben Roethlisberger’s situation was brought to light.

Coming off a hot start to the season, Ben and the Steelers managed to lose their next three games to the Raiders, the Bengals, and the Packers. In all three games, Roethlisberger’s performances were abysmal, as he threw for three touchdowns and interceptions in that span. Statistics are not everything, but any logical football fan watching the Steelers play would recognize that a major part of their misfortune was Big Ben’s play. There are many examples of this deficiency, such as a late play from the Steelers’ game with the Cincinnati Bengals. There were around three minutes left in the 4th quarter; it was 4th and 10, and the Steelers were trailing by 14. The game was basically over, but not completely. The ball was snapped, and Roethlisberger barely looked for his receivers down the field before immediately checking the ball down to running back Najee Harris. He threw a swing pass on 4th down. This was not the play call. This was on Ben. There is something off with Ben Roethlisberger, and we cannot quite seem to figure out what it is. It is most likely his age catching up to him, as he is as mobile as a snail.

Whatever the problem is, Roethlisberger needs to figure it out, and fast, if they want to have a chance to make the playoffs. Big Ben seems like the surefire starter for the rest of the season, barring any injuries, as the Steelers have come out multiple times stating that Ben will not be benched. The quarterbacks behind Roethlisberger are Mason Rudolph and the newly acquired Dwayne Haskins. The Steelers do not seem ready to move on yet, but they will have to figure out a way to get wins and get back to the Pittsburgh Steelers they are known to be. The Steelers are 1-3, trailing all 3 of the AFC North teams who are all 3-1. They face the Denver Broncos on Sunday, the 10th at 1 p.m. EST.