While Ben Roethlisberger struggles for Steelers, Philip Rivers finishing strong for Colts

Just like the teams they lead, the two quarterbacks remaining from the famed 2004 NFL Draft class are trending in opposite directions.

Sure, Ben Roethlisberger has presided over an 11-3 record for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who already have clinched a playoff berth and can wrap up the AFC North title Sunday with a win against Indianapolis. And Philip Rivers, in his first year with the Colts, can steer his 10-4 team into the postseason with a win at Heinz Field plus some help elsewhere in the conference this weekend.

Similarities about the respective seasons for the future Hall of Fame passers end there.

Roethlisberger’s play in December has mirrored that of the Steelers, who have lost three games in a row after an 11-0 start. Rivers, meanwhile, is heating up at the right time, and his play has helped the Colts win three in a row and five of the past six to move into a tie with Tennessee for the top spot in the AFC South.

While Roethlisberger’s decline has been precipitous — he was in the NFL MVP discussion barely a month ago — Rivers has shown no sign of decline as he, too, nears the end of his 17th professional season.

“I’ve continued to be in awe of his consistency and how he’s playing at such a high level at 39 years old,” Colts coach Frank Reich said earlier this week. “It’s not shocking, but you have to respect that at 39, his arm talent is the same as it was with him five or six years ago.

“His passion for preparation, for the routine, for practice, for watching film, he’s just as passionate about the daily process as I’ve ever seen him, and I highly respect that.”

Rivers maintains an edge on Roethlisberger in most passing categories this season. He is 11th with 3,735 yards, and Roethlisberger is 15th at 3,462. Rivers is ninth in average per attempt (7.7 yards), and Roethlisberger is No. 31 (6.2). Rivers is No. 12 in passer rating, 10 spots ahead of Roethlisberger.

Rivers also is fifth in career passing yards (63,006), and Roethlisberger is seventh, having just surpassed 60,000 yards on Monday night in Cincinnati. With one more touchdown pass, Rivers will match Dan Marino (420) for fifth place all-time. Roethlisberger is eighth at 393.

Roethlisberger, of course, has the edge in Super Bowl rings (two) and appearances (three). Although Rivers is still trying to get to the big game, he commands the utmost respect of Steelers defensive players.

“He’s been in the league almost as long as I’ve been alive, which is kind of crazy,” safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said. “There are not many things he hasn’t seen before, so our goal isn’t really to outsmart him. We just have to execute well and do the things we do well. We’ll try to move around and do things to trick him, but our goal isn’t to try to outsmart somebody who has been doing it that long.”

At the beginning of the season, it looked like Rivers — and not the quarterback whose right elbow was reconstructed last year — was nearing the end of the line. When the Los Angeles Chargers declined to re-sign Rivers before he hit free agency, it looked like a prudent decision.

After signing a one-year, $25 million deal with Indianapolis, Rivers and the Colts got off to a slow start, and fans panned the signing. In his first five games, Rivers threw four touchdown passes and five interceptions, and the Colts were 3-2. Since then, Rivers has thrown 18 touchdown passes and only four interceptions and the Colts have gone 7-2.

“This dude, he competes his tail off,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “There’s not a defense he hasn’t seen. He can play the game where he wants to be quick about his passing, or he can dice you up and go down the field. He has the communication with his receivers that allows him to do special things.”

Roethlisberger enjoyed the same benefits at the outset of the season. In the first nine games, he threw 22 touchdown passes and just four interceptions while compiling a 103.0 passer rating. But in the past five, he has thrown eight touchdown passes, six interceptions and has a 75.5 passer rating.

Roethlisberger has adapted his game to take into account his elbow surgery, an aging offensive line and a running game that has stumbled in the second half of the season. His recent play suggests maybe he has run out of ways to hold off Father Time.

“At some point, if you want to play this game long enough, if you can’t physically do the exact same things you could do when you’re younger, you have to find a way to be successful and win in other ways,” Roethlisberger said. “For me, it’s trying to be mentally strong. I’m trying to figure out how mentally I can beat a defense. There are times when I feel good. There are times when I feel like I haven’t been sharp mentally.

“I need to get more consistent with my play, that’s mentally and physically.”

Rivers hasn’t exactly found the Fountain of Youth in Indianapolis. He is, after all, three months older than Roethlisberger and turned 39 earlier this month. But the Colts have surrounded him with an offensive line that is considered one of the best in the NFL, a strong running game led by rookie Jonathan Taylor and a receiving corps built around veteran T.Y. Hilton.

Like Roethlisberger, Rivers has used his smarts to get by.

“He’s very sharp,” said defensive coordinator Keith Butler, who unsuccessfully tried to recruit Rivers to Memphis more than two decades ago. “He does a good job of reading the secondary, getting them in the best offensive play they can be in based on the defense or what he sees from the defense. That, to me, is always the challenge with him. … We have to show him one thing and play another thing. He’ll figure it out sometimes. Sometimes he won’t.

“It’s going to be a tough deal for us.”

The matchup will be the sixth in the Roethlisberger-Rivers timeline. Rivers holds a 3-2 edge, winning in 2006, ‘12 and ‘18. Roethlisberger scored victories in the 2008-09 regular-season series. Roethlisberger also owns the only postseason victory as the Steelers beat the Chargers, 35-24, in the 2008 divisional round.

It’s conceivable Roethlisberger and Rivers will meet one more time in January. First, they have some business to attend to Sunday.