Ben Roethlisberger was a league MVP candidate for part of the season, and he can become the first quarterback in team history to lead the league in passing.
Yet, Roethlisberger’s teammates didn’t think enough of him to vote him their team MVP.
Instead, the Steelers players elected receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster their MVP.
“Yeah, man, I didn’t think it would be me,” Smith-Schuster said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You would think with the numbers they put up it would be one of those guys.”
Smith-Schuster has had a great season, with 106 catches and 1,389 yards, but he’s not even the team’s best receiver. Antonio Brown, who has a league-best 15 touchdown receptions, won the award four of the past seven seasons.
The Steelers’ MVP this season, though, clearly is Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger leads the league with 4,852 yards and can become only the sixth quarterback in NFL history with 5,000 yards. He already has set team records with 33 touchdown passes and 421 completions.
Roethlisberger had the Steelers in position for a game-winning field goal Sunday if not for Smith-Schuster’s fumble, which now has Pittsburgh in need of help to keep its season going.
As Bouchette opined, it’s probably time for the Steelers to retire the award as “it probably spawns more discontent than anything.”
If Roethlisberger’s teammates had voted him MVP, we probably wouldn’t even have had a post about the award. It is that obvious who the Steelers real MVP is.