Why Ben Roethlisberger will have a career low in interceptions in 2019

In case you didn’t know, the Pittsburgh Steelers will return to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA in exactly 30 days of this article being published. With that, I decided to revive an old series we used to do as a lead up to training camp.

30 predictions in 30 days.

Myself and Simon Chester will alternate days giving a prediction for the upcoming season. Some will be team oriented, while others will be specific to individual players. Either way, you will be able to read the reason why we think this prediction will come to fruition, why it might not come true and you have your chance to give your thoughts in the comment section below the article!

Training camp is almost here! Here We Go!

Prediction: Ben Roethlisberger will have a career low in interceptions in 2019 (while playing in at least 13 games).

Why it will happen: Throughout Ben Roethlisberger’s career, the lowest total of interceptions he has ever had in a season where he played at least 13 games is 8, which was achieved in 2013. To suggest he cuts his interceptions by more than half from last season, where he had a league-leading 16 interceptions, seems far-fetched, but in reality it isn’t out of the realm of possibility.

If you think about some of the interceptions Roethlisberger threw last season, two come to mind: the interception at the end of the half vs. the Atlanta Falcons and the game-clinching interception at the end of the Denver Broncos game, if he were to be just a little safer with the football his interception numbers would have gone down significantly.

Everyone will point to the interceptions thrown when targeting Antonio Brown, and while I am not going dismiss this theory the kicker for me is how Roethlisberger won’t have to worry about feeding No. 84 in 2019. He can spread the football around to the open receiver. This should be an offense with Roethlisberger being able to freely scan the field and hit the open receiver with the best machup, and this should lead to a significant decrease in interceptions.

Why it won’t happen: Antonio Brown may be gone, but the gunslinger that is Ben Roethlisberger remains in Pittsburgh. While some fans want to point to Roethlisberger forcing the ball to Brown in the past, maybe it wasn’t a Brown issue, but a Ben issue. Roethlisberger sees small windows, and he will try to put that football into those windows regardless of the receiver.

If the Steelers’ offense is going to be a pass-happy unit, again, there is nothing to suggest Roethlisberger won’t have double-digit interceptions again in 2019. Will he throw more than 16? Probably not, but to think he has a new career low might be a stretch.

What are your thoughts on this prediction? Do you think it will happen? Or are we crazy? Let us know by voting in the poll, and letting your voice be heard in the comment section below!