Home Ben vs. Road Ben was very real in the Steelers’ 2017 season

The Pittsburgh Steelers franchise quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, has had his ups-and-downs throughout his long NFL career. Whether it be on the field, or off the field, Roethlisberger has always had some pitfalls, but continued to be a dynamic player. With every dazzling play there are some befuddling plays which make fans wonder where this particular play came from.

In the 2017 season, Roethlisberger certainly did his best Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde impersonation with his play at home, versus his play away from Heinz Field.

This from Pro Football Focus, regarding Roethlisberger’s overall accuracy, especially with deep passes:

Considering this graph is only targeting deep passes, passes which the intended target are 20 or more yards past the line of scrimmage, the attempts and completions are skewed heavily towards Roethlisberger’s play at home. But as you continue to look at the data, you see just how poor Roethlisberger was on the road.

Road Ben strikes again.

What fans are left with now is wondering why Roethlisberger’s statistics are so poor away from home? Some say it has to do with communication, while others point to the fact the Steelers played 6 of their first 9 games of the season on the road — those games where the offense struggled to get going.

Either way you slice it, there is no overlooking Roethlisberger’s numbers on the road, and if the Steelers want to be a dominant team, it could very well start with his improved play when traveling in 2018-2019.