18 weeks of the regular season and where does the NFL bring you? To one of the biggest rivalries. The Steel City vs. the Charm City. The Steelers are coming with 4 straight losses while the Ravens are into the postseason with 4 wins. We couldn’t ask for a better showdown. Too much is at stake for Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson. And sit down because one of the Steelers’ former QBs has got his eyes on both.

So, did you just think because Ben Roethlisberger played for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh team, he’s gonna have Wilson‘s name on top for his top-7 QBs? Nah! he’s more of a team player and ranks the QBs based on his 18 years of experience. And here’s the kicker: Wilson’s not on the top, that’s fine. But Roethlisberger chose the rivals’ QB, Jackson as the best of this season. Can you believe it?

And as we said before, the two-time Super Bowl champions came with a pretty solid reason. “It’s not who I think is the best quarterback in the NFL, or it’s who do I think played the best this year,” Roethlisberger said on his ‘Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger’ podcast. “Doesn’t necessarily mean they had the best stats. Maybe they led their team to victories. Maybe they won a lot of games, maybe they won with less.” Told ya, right?

“This is who I think played in my opinion the top seven quarterbacks in league this year starting with seven to one,” Roethlisberger continued. “Number 7, Justin Herbert, number 6, Sam Darnold, number 5, Jared Goff, number 4, Patrick Mahomes, number 3, Josh Allen, number 2, Joe Burrow, and number 1, Lamar Jackson.” Now that’s the big picture here. The Steelers QB, Wilson, is not even on the list.

And Roethlisberger’s take on this isn’t without merit. Some of Wilson’s costly mistakes and decisions led him to be questioned. Take the week 18 game for instance against the Bengals. Late in the game, the Steelers were trying to score a TD or a game-winning field goal. And where’s your QB? Well, he chose to scramble for just three yards instead of getting out of the bounds.

Moreover, this season, Russ had 2,482 yards with 16 touchdowns and had 5 interceptions. Talking about his passing game, he completed 214 passes out of 336, a completion rate of 63.7. This isn’t that bad, but others did better. With a QB rating of 51.3, he stands at a 22nd position in the league.

“In that situation, getting out bounds is the most important thing,” Roethlisberger talked about this on his podcast. “Get out of bounds and save the time. No one’s going to look at you and be like, ‘Oh, he’s soft, he got out of bounds,’ no, they’re going to look like that’s a smart play… Know when to do that and when not to.” And what happened next? The QB got sacked in the next play. And now the head coach, Mike Tomlin, is shifting his sights on the backup QB.

Will Justin Fields take Russell Wilson’s place?

Russell Wilson’s summary of this season? It’s kinda like that of the Steelers vs Ravens scenario. First four starts, the guy brought out the storm, clinching every game. And there’s no need to list out the last four games, is it? The equation is simple for the head coach after 4 straight losses. Tomlin is eyeing for Justin Fields‘ role in the win-or-go-home showdown.

But what did he actually say? Just a pretty response y’all want to hear. Tomlin remarked, “I’m certainly open to utilizing Justin. He has an awesome skillset. … In an effort to win this game, I’m open to any combination in the division of labor.” Guess he’s not wrong. When the knockout showdown is against your bitter rival, all that matters is a win. No questions asked!

But Fields isn’t actually a bad option. The guy will come with a 4-2 record in the six games that he started this season. Not to mention over 1,000 yards in just 10 games with over 65% completion rate. So, open to utilizing Fields – check, open for any combination to win – check, what else Mike Tomlin can hope to win against the Ravens?

For the starters, Tomlin and Co. can hope Lamar Jackson’s postseason record works in their favor. The two-times MVP is coming to face the Steelers with a poor 2-4 record and whether it is Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, all the Steelers want to make it a 2-5. Period!