Roethlisberger not Brady chosen as AFC Player of Week
By Rachel Wold
The NFL made a close and perhaps debatable call when it named Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger AFC Offensive Player of the Week rather than New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Both quarterbacks had tremendous Week 2 performances. Brady played on the road against the Buffalo Bills and passed for 466 yards which is the most any quarterback has ever totaled against the Bills in their franchise history. Brady’s 466 yards resulted from 38 of 59 passing attempts including three touchdowns and zero interceptions. The 59 passing attempts were the second-most of his NFL career. The only flaw of Brady’s day was a lost fumble and the Patriots beat the Bills 40-32.
As for Roethlisberger, perhaps a squeaky clean game gave him the edge because he passed for 369 yards resulting from 21 of 27 attempts. He also threw for three touchdowns and went interception-free. After Big Ben’s grand day, the Steelers won at home against the San Francisco 49ers 43-18.
Brady undoubtedly played against a more fierce defense than Roethlisberger did, however, it was likely the lost fumble that was the deciding factor. That and the fact that the NFL and Brady aren’t exactly on best buddy terms due to the “Deflategate” fiasco.
Or, maybe it came down to fantasy points. According to ESPN scoring, Roethlisberger tallied 30 fantasy points to Brady’s 28. Had Brady not committed the fumble, the two quarterbacks would have tied leaving us to wonder if the NFL pays attention to fantasy stats.
Congratulations to Roethlisberger for his accomplishment.
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