Mark Madden: Ben Roethlisberger willed the Steelers into the playoffs

Ben Roethlisberger did it.

I’m not sure how. But he did it.

I’ve written this column many times. Barring an even bigger miracle next weekend at Kansas City, this will be the last. (Don’t forget Sunday’s real heroes: 3-14 Jacksonville upset Indianapolis, and Las Vegas kicked instead of kneeling.)

But the Pittsburgh Steelers won at Baltimore and made the playoffs via the sheer will displayed by Roethlisberger, who excelled in no way beyond achieving the result.

Roethlisberger’s statistics were pedestrian. But he led a fourth-quarter drive that put the Steelers ahead 13-10. Roethlisberger drove his team to a winning field goal in overtime, converting a fourth-and-8 pass to Ray-Ray McCloud en route.

“Fourth-and-8 pass to Ray-Ray McCloud.” Read that again. For heck’s sake.

Roethlisberger completed 7 of 8 for 54 yards on the fourth-quarter drive. He was 5 for 8 for 47 yards in OT. Nothing spectacular.

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There were certainly hiccups.

Balls got dropped. Pat Freiermuth inexplicably went out of bounds short of the sticks on third down to foil the Steelers’ penultimate possession in regulation. The running game averaged 2.6 yards per carry. The defense could have clinched the win with a fourth-quarter stop but failed.

But Roethlisberger did it.

I’m not sure how. But he did it.

Roethlisberger’s arm often looks like a wet noodle. He sometimes sags and displays the gimpy gait of a broken-down, middle-aged man, which is exactly what he is.

The wear and tear to other body parts noted, Roethlisberger has the heart of a lion and something else the size of grapefruits.

Roethlisberger had five fourth-quarter comebacks before Sunday. Now this.

His arsenal has been diminished badly. But tarry too long, and Roethlisberger will shoot you right through the heart from close range. That’s what happened Sunday.

Roethlisberger did it.

I’m not sure how. But he did it.

This has been one of Roethlisberger’s worst seasons, yet somehow one of his best.

Making the playoffs achieves nothing good. That’s the reality.

The Steelers go to Kansas City for their wild-card playoff game. They got thumped there by a 36-10 score two weeks ago.

Cream rises to the top. But manure can, too. The Steelers aren’t very good, but making the playoffs fools many, including the organization. Decisions might be made that shouldn’t. A bar might be set that’s incorrect.

The Steelers get a worse draft pick. No way Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett drops to the Steelers now. (I’m pandering. The Steelers have far bigger concerns than QB.)

But, past the visit to Kansas City, none of that concerns Roethlisberger. (The Steelers definitely will lose to the Chiefs. But Roethlisberger might make a game of it.)

When Mason Rudolph takes over behind center next season, he will do OK. It wouldn’t be shocking to see his stats in 2022 be similar to Roethlisberger’s in 2021. (Roethlisberger’s yards per attempt this year is 6.2. Dead people fall forward further.)

But when the game is up for grabs in the fourth quarter and Rudolph trots onto the field, the belief won’t be there. Not with his teammates, not with the fans and not intangibly.

Roethlisberger has that aura. Rudolph will not.

The Steelers had little right to win Sunday and no right to make the playoffs.

But Roethlisberger did it.

I’m not sure how. But he did it.