PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers legend and future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger will go down in the record books, now tied with Jayden Daniels of the Washington Commanders. Both quarterbacks will finish the 2024 season with the most wins as a rookie QB in NFL history with 14 each.
Daniels had the opportunity to break Roethlisberger’s record, earning his 15th win of the season and a trip to the Super Bowl in the same game. But despite throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns, the Commanders fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 55-23 in the NFC Championship.
Roethlisberger’s record was set in 2004 when the first-round pick replaced Tommy Maddox due to injury. He played in 14 consecutive games, missing the 17th week of the season after the team won first place in the AFC. They then appeared in the AFC Championship Game before falling to the New England Patriots, who won the Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger stepped in in Week 2 and carried Pittsburgh to a 14-1 regular season record and a playoff victory.
Daniels won 12 regular season games, earning a Wild Card berth and taking the Commanders from the NFL’s second-worst team the year to a double-digit winning team in 2024. With wins against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round and against the Detroit Lions in the Divisional Round, he had 14 wins, tying Big Ben’s record.
Roethlisberger coach Bill Cowherd actually admitted during the playoffs that Daniels had a more impressive season than Big Ben had as a rookie.
“I think Jayden Daniels had a lot more work than Ben. Ben got used to it as the season went on. We gave him more and more as he got more comfortable with what he was doing,” Cowherd said.
Now, both quarterbacks will carry the NFL record through the 2025 season, waiting for the next rookie sensation to attempt to break the mark in their first season.
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