Spotlight on the quarterbacks
Quarterbacks.
They are the biggest stories all the time in football, and sometimes the only story.
And they will continue to be that — and then some; in this case, a lot of “some” — when the Browns meet the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football at Heinz Field.
There is a lot at stake for both quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield of the Browns and the Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger, but in entirely different ways.
Mayfield is trying to prove he’s the guy, if not for the Browns then possibly for another team, while Roethlisberger, who has been the guy for a decade and a half, is trying to have one more moment in the sun in what will likely be his last home game.
What ultimately happens in the game will say volumes about not only both men, but also both teams.
The 7-8 Browns, of course, are in a must-win situation if they want to make it to the playoffs for the second straight season for the first time in 32 years, and Mayfield is in a must-perform situation to quell the rise of doubters after his underwhelming performances this season, especially in last Saturday’s disappointing, sickeningly so, 24-22 loss to the Green Bay Packers. Indeed, he has some work to do — a lot of it, actually.
The 7-7-1 Steelers last offseason decided to bring back Roethlisberger, who has been with them since 2004, for one more year knowing it would probably be the last one for him, and also knowing that it would be their best chance — by far; it wasn’t even close — to make a run at the Super Bowl. Their chance to do that will ebb and flow with Roethlisberger’s performance against a Browns, against whom he has excelled greatly over the years.
Which player will get what he — and his team — so desperately wants, and needs?
We will soon find out.
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