Prime-Time Big Ben Continues to Prove Concerns over Subpar Season Are Overblown

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is still really good at football. 

Just in case anyone forgot how dangerous Big Ben can be, he posted a four-touchdown performance during a 40-17 blowout victory over the Tennessee Titans at Heinz Field. 

Heading into Thursday's contest, the Steelers (8-2) were designated as a successful team that plays to its competition. 

Pittsburgh's Jekyll and Hyde personality appeared throughout the campaign. The squad that walked into Kansas City and beat the then-undefeated Chiefs is the same one that squeaked by the winless Cleveland Browns and woeful Indianapolis Colts with three-point victories. 

The onus lay at the feet of the franchise quarterback. 

What was wrong with Roethlisberger? Why wasn't he playing well? Had the quarterback held back a talented roster? Should he retire soon? 

All of these questions were pondered, and the 35-year-old fed into the drama. 

"Being able to play catch with my kids. As my wife says, 'knowing my kids in the future,'" Roethlisberger said this summer of his decision to return for another year, per ESPN.com's Hallie Grossman. "Brain trauma, things like that. Waking up in the morning with my knees aching, shoulders aching."

"I don't know how much I have left. So, for me, I'm not trying to be out here to make best friends. I'm trying to win football games. I'm trying to win championships."

Knowing the two-time Super Bowl champion's time is limited, too many are looking for signs of decline and poking holes in his game instead of acknowledging what he can still do. 

Through the first nine weeks, the answers seemed obvious. Roethlisberger provided his lowest completion percentage (61.1 percent) since 2008, a 12-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio and no longer made the big-time plays when everything broke down.

Justin Berl/Getty Images

He appeared to be a prizefighter at the end of his career who could survive in the ring but wasn't as fast or talented and couldn't land a knockout blow.

For a starting quarterback, being anointed a game manager is the worst categorization. No one refers to a superstar as a game manager. Alex Smith carried this yoke for years. Meanwhile, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers are shining stars sent to Earth just so everyone can bask in their otherworldly talent. Roethlisberger teetered near the abyss. 

"I played point guard in high school. All-American point guard, I'd like to say," he joked, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. "So I'm used to distributing the ball and getting us in the best play possible."

Thursday's performance invoked those distribution skills and changed everything.

The five-time Pro Bowler showed he can still shred a defense, even against an experienced coordinator such as Tennessee's Dick LeBeau, who knows Roethlisberger's game so well after heading up the Pittsburgh defense from 2004 to 2014. 

The Steelers' all-time leading passer played nearly flawless football, particularly in the second half. Roethlisberger completed 30 of 45 passes overall for 299 yards, four touchdowns and no turnovers. 

After the Titans scored 11 seconds into the third quarter, something clicked for the Steelers offense. Roethlisberger completed 20 of his 23 passes for 185 yards and three of his touchdowns during Pittsburgh's next four drives after he called out the entire team at halftime. 

"He didn't call anyone out; he called all of us out. Linemen. Receivers. Himself. Running backs," Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro said, per the Associated Press' Will Graves. "Purely positive. It was a challenge. He challenged us. The guys responded."

Clearly, this developed into the quarterback's best 2017 performance, as Rotoworld's Pat Daugherty noted: 

The effort built upon last week's comeback victory against the Colts. Indianapolis led Pittsburgh 17-3 with under 13 minutes to play in the third quarter. From that point, Roethlisberger completed eight of 13 passes with a pair of touchdowns. 

Big Ben has many weapons at his disposal, which is why he may take the blame when the offense sputters. Wide receiver Antonio Brown (10 catches, 144 yards, three TDs) is a superhero straight from the pages of a Marvel comic, while Le'Veon Bell (103 yards on 21 touches) is a true workhorse as a runner, receiver and blocker. 

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

The trio plays behind one of the league's most consistent offensive lines, too. Pittsburgh's front five may not be the league's most talented group, but it's an experienced bunch that fits well with the team's offensive identity. 

This attack is primed to score 30 or more points every contest, yet it entered Thursday's affair ranked 20th overall at 20.8 points per game. 

At times, Roethlisberger has been unsteady. He's been nowhere near as precise as in the past, and even his deep ball has been lacking. 

But he's always ready for prime time, according to ESPN Stats & Info: 

"The stars come out when the lights are on," head coach Mike Tomlin said, per NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala. 

Pittsburgh's next three contests will be played on Sunday Night Football (twice) and Monday Night Football. 

Tomlin has the fastest, most talented group he's fielded since Pittsburgh last won a Super Bowl in 2008. Brown and Bell are nearly unstoppable. JuJu Smith-Schuster quickly developed into a dangerous offensive target. Martavis Bryant is still lurking. And the defense has come to play. 

Pittsburgh's defensive front dominates for stretches. Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt are game-wreckers. The Steelers are more athletic at linebacker than they have ever been with Ryan Shazier, Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt on the field. The secondary is a work in progress with Joe Haden (fibula) and Mike Mitchell's (shoulder) injuries, but it's still counted among the top five pass defenses. 

The Steelers are Super Bowl contenders with all of this talent, and the organization lives by a championship standard. 

Roethlisberger used to be the driving force behind those expectations. This year he's been viewed as a hindrance. He's neither, but the Steelers wouldn't be where they are without him.

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @brentsobleski.