Where Does 2020 Rank Among Ben Roethlisberger's Top 5 Seasons?

After playing only two games in 2019 because of an elbow injury, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has rebounded emphatically this season.

He's guided the Steelers to their first 9-0 start in franchise history while completing 66.8 percent of his passes for 2,267 yards, 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions. 

Where does this rank among his best-ever seasons? Let's dive into his career numbers to see where it stands at the moment.

5. 2014

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

It's hard to undersell just how impressive Big Ben was in 2014. 

Roethlisberger led the Steelers to an 11-5 record while completing 67.1 percent of his passes, the second-highest mark of his career. He led the league with 4,952 passing yards and threw 32 touchdowns against only nine interceptions on a then-career-high 608 attempts.

Roethlisberger's 103.3 passer rating that season was the second-best mark of his career. He also orchestrated two fourth-quarter comebacks, three game-winning drives, had an 86.6 Pro Football Focus grade and an Approximate Value of 15, the highest of his career. 

The amazing performance didn't result in a Super Bowl win, which speaks to the team-based nature of football. But as far as individual performances go, it was one of the future Hall of Famer's best. 

4. 2017

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

Roethlisberger shredded the NFL in 2017, completing 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,251 yards and 28 touchdowns against 14 interceptions. He won 12 games as a starter, which was only the third time he'd reached or surpassed that number. 

Call it a precursor of things to come, too.

Some could pound the table for his 2018 numbers as being more impressive because he threw for a career-high 5,129 yards on a league-leading 675 attempts. However, he missed a game in 2017, and his yards-per-attempt matched the following season's at 7.6, as did his 5.0 touchdown percentage. All Pittsburgh did was increase his number of throws in 2018. 

In 2017, Big Ben led three fourth-quarter comebacks and four game-winning drives. He had an 87.7 Pro Football Focus that season compared to a 78.2 PFF grade in 2018. 

The 2017 season did end with a fluky loss to Jacksonville in the playoffs, although Big Ben threw for 469 yards and five touchdowns in the shootout. 

3. 2020

Don Wright/Associated Press

Big Ben has gotten off to a 9-0 start in his comeback 2020 campaign.

To date, he's completed 66.8 percent of his passes for 2,267 yards, 22 touchdowns and only four interceptions. His touchdown percentage of 6.6 is the second-highest mark of his career, and he's already led a league-high three fourth-quarter comebacks and three game-winning drives.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are averaging less than four yards per carry, and Roethlisberger doesn't have a target like a prime Antonio Brown anymore. The fact that he's doing this at the age of 38 despite missing 14 games last season only adds to the surprise factor.

It's unclear whether Big Ben and the Steelers can take down contenders like Kansas City in the playoffs, but he's on pace to have one of his best-ever seasons regardless. 

2. 2004

GENE J. PUSKAR/Associated Press

Big Ben's introduction to the NFL was a stunner. 

The No. 11 overall pick out of Miami (Ohio) completed 66.4 percent of his passes, a number he would end up besting only once through the 2013 season. Along with that came 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. 

The real highlight from a statistical perspective was his 13-0 record, plus his four fourth-quarter comebacks and five game-winning drives. He's matched the former in an ensuing only once and has never hit the latter again. 

The NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year helped the Steelers become the first AFC team to win 15 games. Though his season ended with two touchdowns and three interceptions in a loss to New England in the AFC title game, the season was a small preview of what was to come.

1. 2005

ANN HEISENFELT/Associated Press

Big Ben did not fall victim to a sophomore slump. Nor did defenses use an offseason of film-watching to figure out how to slow him down.

Instead, Roethlisberger completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 2,385 yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions. His touchdown percentage of 6.3 that year still stands as the highest full-season mark of his career. He also averaged 8.9 yards per attempt and 14.2 yards per completion, by far his highest-ever marks. 

The Steelers went 9-3 with Big Ben under center in 2005 and only 2-2 without him when various knee injuries sidelined him. He marched the team to Super Bowl XL, and while his passer rating of 22.6 was the lowest-ever by a winner, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy had a way of erasing any negatives. 

Although he completed only nine of his 21 pass attempts against the Seattle Seahawks, Roethlisberger became the youngest-ever Super Bowl-winning quarterback at the age of 23.