Ask the Stat Geek: Ben Roethlisberger’s success in specific cities

Do you have a statistics question (either large or small) about the Steelers or NFL football? Send them in to BTSC’s stat geek at STLRSuperFanDad@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can find.

In this installment, Ben Roethlisberger’s record in specific cities gets broken down.

Bryan Haines from Baltimore, MD

“Everyone knows that Ben is fantastic in Pittsburgh and in Ohio. Outside of those two places, where is Ben statistically the best quarterback?”

Although “everyone” might know about Big Ben’s record in these locations, let’s go ahead and review the numbers just to make sure. For consistency sake, the stats are for games (regular season and playoffs) in which Ben Roethlisberger was credited as the starter. Additionally, unless stated otherwise, the stats will be in the city regardless of the stadium.

For this particular question, I’m going to focus on the most important stat of all...

Wins.

At Heinz Field, Ben’s record is 85–31 for a 73.3% winning percentage. In Cleveland, Ben has a record of 11-2-1 with a win percentage of 82.1%. When playing in Cincinnati, Ben has a record of 15-2 which equates to a 88.2% win percentage. So when starting a game in the state of Ohio, Ben Roethlisberger has an 85.5% rate of victory.

To round out the AFC North, it should be noted Ben’s record in Baltimore is only 4-6 (40%), although the Steelers have won their last two games at M&T Bank Stadium.

In the particular stadiums in Ohio where Ben has started games, he holds records in each place. At Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ben Roethlisberger’s 88.2% is the highest winning percentage of any quarterback with at least four starts (Drew Brees is 3-0). Additionally, Ben is third in wins (15) behind Andy Dalton (37) and Carson Palmer (27). As for First Energy Stadium in Cleveland, Roethlisberger is second in winning percentage (82.1%) of players with four starts only behind Peyton Manning (5-0). Ben does have the most wins as a starting quarterback with 11, one ahead of Derek Anderson.

To answer the question as to where else Ben has the best record, there first must be some specific requirements outlined. There are several places Ben Roethlisberger has started only a game or two. In order to say Ben has been successful playing in another city, he needs to have started at least three games. Since there isn’t a team Roethlisberger has started three games against in their stadium in which he hasn’t lost at least once, it gives the best statistical data to set the standard as three games.

To knock out half of the teams in the NFL, Ben Roethlisberger hasn’t started more than two road games against any NFC team. He is 2-0 against five teams: Washington, New York Giants, Carolina, Detroit, and St Louis (the Rams before they moved to Los Angeles). Ben is 1-0 at two more NFC teams: Tampa Bay and Green Bay. There are three NFC teams Roethlisberger is 0-2 at their stadium (Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Chicago) and two others where he is 0-1 (San Francisco and Seattle). The remaining four teams (Dallas, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Arizona) Ben is 1-1 in their stadiums.

As for AFC teams, there is only one team in which Ben Roethlisberger has never lost to on the road. In his only two starts in Buffalo, Ben is 2-0. Since Ben was held out of the Week 17 game against the Bills his rookie season in 2004, Buffalo does not meet the three game standard.

Of all of the other AFC teams, Ben has a road winning percentage of 80.0% against two teams, both from the AFC South. In both Indianapolis and Jacksonville, Ben Roethlisberger has a 4-1 record. Ironically, the Steelers are 1-4 in games Roethlisberger has started at home against the Jaguars, but are 2-1 at home against the Colts.

The next two locations where Ben Roethlisberger has a better winning percentage than at Heinz Field are one each from the AFC East and AFC West. In Miami and Kansas City, Ben is 3-1 with a 75.0% winning percentage. With the exception of Houston (66.7%), all the other AFC teams (New England, New York Jets, Tennessee, Denver, Oakland, and San Diego) Roethlisberger has a winning percentage of 50% or lower.

In conclusion, Ben Roethlisberger has a higher winning percentage in six different cities than what he has in Pittsburgh (73.3%), assuming he’s started at least three games. Those cities are Cincinnati (88.2%), Cleveland (82.1%), Indianapolis (80%), Jacksonville (80.0%), Miami (75.0%), and Kansas City (75.0%). There are eight cities where Ben has not lost, but he has only started a game or two.