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Ben Roethlisberger will surpass 30,000 career passing yards against Titans

Last year, Ben Roethlisberger broke the Steelers' franchise record for passing yards. He needs just 156 yards to top 30,000 for his career when the Steelers face the Titans in Week 1.

By Neal Coolong
Don McPeak-US PRESSWIRE

Barring tragedy, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will top 30,000 career passing yards - a milestone only reached by 35 other quarterbacks in NFL history.

To put it into context, there are 42 quarterbacks on NFL rosters right now (not including practice squads).

Roethlisberger sits at 29,844 career yards, meaning he needs just 156 yards to hit the golden 30k mark. It would also put him ahead of Randall Cunningham for 36th all time.

Only five other active quarterbacks have hit that plateau - Peyton Manning (59,949), Drew Brees (45,919), Tom Brady (44,806), Matt Hasselbeck (34,517) and Eli Manning (31,517).

He's done it through grit more than anything else. While not generally known as a scrambling quarterback, none of the five active passers ahead of him have Roethlisberger's mobility, and he's also the youngest of that group. He's also younger than Carson Palmer (29,465), Phillip Rivers (27,891) and Tony Romo (25,737), who trail Roethlisberger on the career list. Palmer and Rivers appear to be poised to top 30,000 yards this year as well.

Brett Favre is the league's all-time passing yards leader at 71,838. Roethlisberger topped Terry Bradshaw's franchise-record 27,989, incidentally, against the Titans last season.

The Steelers drafted Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He's won two Super Bowls since then, and is 15th all time in fourth quarter comebacks - fourth among active quarterbacks (Manning, Brady and Brees).

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