Ben Roethlisberger Reveals Hardest Hit of His Career

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger absorbed a ton of bone-crushing hits during his 18-year Hall of Fame career, but the hit he took from Baltimore Ravens inside linebacker Bart Scott in Week 12 of the 2006 season was by far the most painful. Roethlisberger said as much on his Footbahlin podcast recently with Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

“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. “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.”

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

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.”

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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 made the Pro Bowl and was named second-team All-Pro in 2006, recording 103 tackles, 9.5 sacks, nine pass defended and two interceptions. It was the only time in Scott’s 11-year NFL career that he made the Pro Bowl or earned All-Pro honors. Throughout the 2000s, the Ravens possessed one of the most talented and feared defenses. Scott wasn’t the most talented player on the field, but he played with an edge and fit right in with legendary Ravens linebackers Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs.