Bart Scott Reflects on Annihilating Ben Roethlisberger in 2006: ‘I Decapitated Him and Took His Soul’

In an untold stories series on the Baltimore Ravens official team website, former linebacker Bart Scott reflected on his famous hit on Ben Roethlisberger in 2006. Roethlisberger revealed last summer that it was the hardest hit that he received in his 18-year NFL career.

“All I could see was that chest,” Scott recounted. “That number. Better yet, that chin. Got a chin like Jay Leno. I couldn’t wait to knock that smile off his smug face. No one has taken more from the Ravens than Ben Roethlisberger. It was our time to get some get-back.

“The greatest moment was watching him sit there and squirm and kick his feet out. “… I’m glad that every time the Ravens see that flashback they know that I decapitated him and took his soul.”

"I decapitated him and 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡."

Untold Stories: @BartScott57 on playing the villain vs. Big Ben pic.twitter.com/WkRnKZMR8v

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) April 2, 2024

Roethlisberger absorbed a ton of bone-crushing hits during his 18-year Hall of Fame career, but the hit he took from  Scott in Week 12 of the 2006 season was on another level.

“No. The hardest hit, we talked about it, was early on in my career, we were in Baltimore. And remember Bart Scott? Bart came around his left, my right side, and Willie Parker, love you to death. But Willie went left instead of right to pick him up. So, I just thought he was picked up. So, I was looking left, and he hit me in my chest,” Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast last June. “Everything went slow motion from there. You know, like, I saw, like, I felt my body get lifted off the ground, and I saw my feet just kinda go past level one, level two, there’s the sky, hit the ground, lay there like I can’t breathe.”

As Roethlisberger mentioned, Steelers running back Willie Parker missed his block and Scott came in scot-free off the left side and absolutely annihilated him. Roethlisberger got hit so hard that his head snapped back.

“Yeah, it was all body weight. It was everything. And Bart wasn’t the biggest, but Bart was like that perfect size of speed and size. He hit me so hard, and I remember laying there and like, I don’t know that I’m alive,” Roethlisberger said. “He may have known and felt. I’m sure Bart would love to comment on this story, and I felt like it took everything out of him. That was the hardest hit I ever took, and I laid there because it hurt really bad. But, I didn’t miss a play.”

Roethlisberger actually missed one play, but nevertheless, it was a brutal afternoon for him as he was sacked a whopping nine times in the Steelers’ 27-0 loss to the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Roethlisberger also completed just 51.2% of his passes and threw two interceptions, along with posting a dreadful 46.2 passer rating. The Ravens pretty much crushed the Steelers’ playoff hopes with the lopsided win, as Pittsburgh dropped to 4-7 on the season.

Scott said the defensive call was “Ace Fire Zone,” and like Roethlisberger mentioned, Scott remembered Parker completely missing the block.

“Now, you always need a guy who didn’t study. The guy who didn’t study was Willie Parker,” Scott said. “Really, they did have it picked up if Willie would’ve went the right way. I’m coming and saying, ‘I can’t believe this.’ This dude has his chest wide open. I’m thinking, they’re going to see this as a hot route and the ball’s going to be out. And he burped the baby. And when he burped the baby, I knew Ben was trying to make a play downfield.”

“It was the most beautiful play that you could ever think of,” Scott added.

I’m sure Roethlisberger would beg to differ.

Below is a visual representation of Scott’s hit on Roethlisberger, via YouTube.