There were Super Bowl wins, big plays en route to getting to those Super Bowls, big passing-yardage games and last-second victories.

Oh, and lots and lots of prized memories made against the Baltimore Ravens.

With Thursday’s official announcement from Ben Roethlisberger on his retirement from the Pittsburgh Steelers, fans were in a reminiscing mood, looking back at the more unforgettable moments from an 18-year career that’s destined to land Roethlisberger in the Hall of Fame.

Here are 10 stand out:

10. It begins with Jeanne

Ben Roethlisberger's first career start: A 13-3 win in Miami in Week 3 of the 2004 season.

What #Steelers player caught Ben's only TD pass that day? pic.twitter.com/qFYifqaxR9

— Steelers Wire (@TheSteelersWire) January 27, 2022

Roethlisberger was a 22-year-old injury replacement when he was called upon to make his first career NFL start on Sept. 26, 2004. How many future Hall of Famers can say they made their first start in the midst of the after-effects of a hurricane?

During periods of driving rain in a game that had its kickoff bumped back 7 hours because Hurricane Jeanne had gone through Florida’s Atlantic coast, Roethlisberger did enough to earn the first of his 165 regular-season wins in a 13-3 victory against the Miami Dolphins.

9. It ends with ‘Sizzle’

"Isn't this about as fitting of a Ravens-Steelers game as you can get? ... This rivalry and this battle has been something I'll never forget."

Ben Roethlisberger reflects on the @steelers rivalry with the Ravens after today's OT win.

???? @EvanWashburn pic.twitter.com/O9BE0RzmRr

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) January 9, 2022

With longtime nemesis Terrell “T-Sizzle” Suggs the special guest of honor for a Jan. 9 game that had playoff hopes in the balance for both teams, Roethlisberger’s final regular-season game was a lot like his first in that it wasn’t pretty (it also was played largely during a steady rain) but did result in a win.

Roethlisberger led go-ahead scoring drives in the final 2 minutes of both regulation and overtime, beating a Ravens team that both beat him more than any other in the NFL — and suffered more losses to him than to any other NFL quarterback.

8. Walk-off 500

#OTD in 2009, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 503 yards against the Packers to notch his first career 500-yard game.#SteelersHistory #BensDay pic.twitter.com/tWgABk66lI

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 20, 2017

Roethlisberger out-dueled Aaron Rodgers in a late-season thriller Dec. 20, 2009, keeping the then-reigning Super Bowl champion Steelers’ playoff hopes alive with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Mike Wallace as time expired.

That marked the fourth lead change of the fourth quarter and the third touchdown pass of the game for Roethlisberger, who completed 29 of 46 attempts for 503 yards.

7. Mister Perfect

Happy Friday!

Here’s Ben Roethlisberger’s first touchdown from a 38-7 victory over the Ravens from 2007.

Trevor Pryce was a 290 lb defensive lineman & 4x Pro Bowler yet Ben shakes him off like he’s nothing. Incredible strength. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/Cgb2uMx73h

— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) July 17, 2020

One of only two quarterbacks to have as many as four “perfect” games in the NFL (a 158.3 passer rating), Roethlisberger’s second such brush with perfection came during a 38-7 blowout of the Ravens on a Monday night, Nov. 5, 2007.

Roethlisberger had five touchdown passes among his 13 completions in 16 attempts, amassing 209 yards.

6. Helmet help

Never forget this amazing helmet catch by Antonio Brown on 3rd and 19 to help the Steelers beat the Ravens in the 2010 playoffs. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/MoONDKF3gR

— BlitzburghUSAVideos (@sdextrasmedia) October 30, 2020

When the Steelers were facing the Ravens in a divisional playoff game at the end of the 2010 season, Antonio Brown was just a mostly-anonymous No. 4 receiver and rookie sixth-round pick. His first big offensive play in the NFL came when he caught a 58-yard bullet from Roethlisberger on a third-and-19 with 2 minutes to go in a tied playoff game.

Roethlisberger had thrown two prior second-half touchdown passes to overcome a 21-7 deficit and lead the Steelers to a 31-24 win Jan. 15, 2011.

5. Twelve TDs, 8 days

Ben Roethlisberger = 1st QB in NFL History to throw 12 TDs in a 2-game span. pic.twitter.com/38Jq7wAQXW

— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2014

This isn’t so much of a “moment,” but it is a two-game span that might be the best statistical such run for a quarterback in NFL history: during Weeks 8-9 of the 2014 season in consecutive home games Oct. 26 and Nov. 2, Roethlisberger had 12 touchdown passes, no interceptions and completed 76% of his passes for 862 yards.

In victories against the Indianapolis Colts and Ravens, Roethlisberger set and tied his career high for touchdown passes in a game (six each). The 51-34 win against the Colts featured a career-high 522 passing yards.

4. A run for the thumb

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review Steelers receiver Hines Ward (86) is congratulated by Cedric Wilson (80) in Super Bowl XL on Feb. 5, 2006, in Detroit.  

In becoming the youngest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at age 23, Roethlisberger completed just nine passes in the Feb. 5, 2006, Super Bowl XL win against the Seattle Seahawks. But he did have his moments in helping the Steelers to their fifth NFL championship and first in 26 years.

Most prominent among them were a 37-yard pass to Hines Ward on third-and-28 late in the first half that set the Steelers up at the Seattle 2. Three plays later, Roethlisberger found a way to burrow his way into the end zone on a QB keeper, giving the Steelers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

3. Saves the day

Whenever the @Steelers play the Colts, Ben Roethlisberger’s game-saving tackle in the 2005 Playoffs always comes to mind. pic.twitter.com/oBpKnxTxJr

— NFL on CBS ???? (@NFLonCBS) December 26, 2020

Of course, the Steelers likely wouldn’t even have been in Detroit for that Super Bowl if not for what is the most famous non-passing play of Roethlisberger’s career.

By now, Steelers fans know the scenario: on the verge of a major upset at the No. 1 seed Indianapolis Colts in a divisional playoff game Jan. 15, 2006, Jerome Bettis fumbles while seemingly en route to the clinching touchdown with 1 minute, 20 seconds left. The Colts’ Nick Harper scoops up the ball and appears on his way to giving his team its first lead of the game — but Roethlisberger hustles back, extends an arm and trips up the speedy defensive back.

The Steelers’ defense holds (barely) when Mike Vanderjagt misses a 46-yard field goal, sending the Steelers to the AFC championship game.

2. A ‘nose’ for winning

That game also gave us one of the most impressive incomplete passes in NFL history. Roethlisberger, with a broken nose, avoids this sack by Suggs and two plays later the #Steelers score the go ahead touchdown. pic.twitter.com/nO0QSC9lGN

— Daniel Valente (@StatsGuyDaniel) May 29, 2019

Another in a long run of moments against the Ravens, and another Roethlisberger game that epitomized his workmanlike career. With first place on the line on a cold December night in Baltimore, the Steelers trailed from the first quarter until their final drive of the game. That final meaningful possession was culminated by a Roethlisberger touchdown pass to Isaac Redman with 2 minutes, 51 seconds left in the fourth.

Roethlisberger threw for 253 yards on 38 attempts — but what made this game iconic for him was that 34 of those 38 passes were thrown after he suffered a broken nose. The images of blood pouring down Roethlisberger’s face after being struck by 331-pound Haloti Ngata and, later, of the medical stent inside a battered and visibly-crooked Roethlisberger nose encapsulate the Steelers-Ravens rivalry and Big Ben’s place in it.

1. Santonio’s catch

An all-time great Super Bowl moment

Ben Roethlisberger ➡️ Santonio Holmes

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/hm9fYrOD1O

— Pickswise (@Pickswise) January 27, 2022

It’s in the running for the greatest Super Bowl play of all-time, and most certainly one of the best Super Bowl passes ever thrown when you combine the precise technical nature of the toss with the situation: 35 seconds left, Steelers trailing the Arizona Cardinals by three points in Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, 2009.

Roethlisberger pump faked and let go a rocket of a pass to the back right corner of the end zone, where Santonio Holmes stood cornered in by no fewer than three Arizona defenders. Holmes’ hands and toes finished the play, and he rightly gets most of the accolades for the touchdown (Holmes was named the game’s MVP). But Roethlisberger’s throw was perfect.

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