Big Ben On Cover Of Men's Health

The Immaculate RecoveryBen Roethlisberger will never yield -- not to onrushing traffic, evidently, or to health scares. Pittsburgh's precocious QB knows what to do when thrown for a loss: Come back with all you've got.By: Jeff O'Connell


The most violent sack of Ben Roethlisberger's brief, spectacular career cost him 25 pounds in 2 weeks. With no helmet to protect him, the "new face of the Pittsburgh Steelers" vaulted from his motorcycle, face-planted into an onrushing 1996 Chrysler New Yorker, broke his jaw, lost some teeth, fractured bones in his face, suffered a concussion, and was rushed by paramedics to a hospital, where five titanium plates were installed in his face. Twelve weeks later came the surprise blitz of an about-to-explode appendix. As weight-loss strategies go, they worked, but they sucked.

In between health emergencies, I joined the 24-year-old quarterback as he worked the leg press during the Steelers' training camp. It was less than 3 months after the accident, and the only noticeable difference wrought by the wreck was a body that seemed more streamlined than before. Later that day, out on the practice field at Pittsburgh's UPMC Sports Performance Complex, Roethlisberger seemed lighter of foot, and his passes zipped through the soup-thick humidity with no loss of airspeed. "In terms of arm strength, he's the same guy coming back this camp as I've always known," says second-year tight end Heath Miller.

"I wanted to lose weight this off-season, but obviously I didn't want to lose it that way," says Big Ben, still worthy of his nickname at 6'5", in the high 230s, down from 250. "But all the weight I'm putting on now is weight-room weight. I feel like my body is where I want to be right now."

Subtract another 3 inches of appendix, and he's dialed in.

Etching his name in history
Roethlisberger is the toast of football-crazy Pittsburgh, complete with the inevitable eponymous sandwich, courtesy of a local bar. Fans embrace Roethlisberger because he wins -- it's that simple. So far, when Big Ben has lined up behind center, the Steelers have prevailed nearly 90 percent of the time, and in February, he guided the franchise to its fifth Super Bowl win. But the makings of legend came when they played the favored Indianapolis Colts, a game in which Roethlisberger was credited with what Steelers diehards now call the Immaculate Tackle, hearkening back to Franco Harris's ricochet reception in the 1972 playoffs. This time, myth and man came together with 1:20 remaining and the Steelers clinging to a 21-18 lead, when running back Jerome Bettis fumbled 1 yard from the Colts' end zone. Nick Harper, a cornerback, scooped up the loose ball and sprinted downfield, only to have Roethlisberger, of all players, trip him up just past midfield. The Colts missed a field goal that would have sent the game into overtime, and Pittsburgh moved on to the conference finals, where they beat the Broncos.

In less than 6 months, Roethlisberger went from being on top of the world to nearly being 6 feet under. The accident wasn't his fault: The Chrysler driver failed to yield. Yet because he was riding without a helmet (which is legal in Pennsylvania), people wondered: His line body-guards him as if he were a head of state, so how could he have been so reckless off the field? In games, of course, a QB balances risk against conservatism every time he drops back and makes his reads. And during Roethlisberger's pro career, a willingness to gamble has been a signature. As he says, "I take my life and put it on the football field, and I take the football field and put it in my life."

So how did he make it back so fast? Adding to Roethlisberger's preternatural self-confidence -- "Once the doc said I was going to be okay, there was no doubt in my mind I'd be back on the field," he says -- was the knowledge that he was in great shape before the accident, meaning he took only five steps back instead of 10. (And in his world, a balky appendix is just a stutter step.) "He was the first player here for our off-season lifting program, 3 weeks after the Super Bowl, and he was on a mission," says Steelers strength-and-conditioning coach Chet Fuhrman. "Usually you find quarterbacks on the golf course then." Roethlisberger is also more athletic than most QBs. "He's phenomenal at every sport he tries," says Marcel Pastoor, an assistant trainer for the Steelers. "He's just a genetic freak."

What's more, Roethlisberger's face bore the brunt of the collision, largely sparing his body. Along with downing the calories and protein his body needed for recovery and repair, he was in the gym training 2 weeks after the accident, using light weights and high repetitions to help build muscle fast. (The only things doctors asked him to avoid initially were movements that involved jumping up and down; he's cleared to resume celebratory movements in the playoffs next year.) Reestablishing core stability was essential, requiring a lot of hip, back, and ab work three times a week. Shoulder work was key for a signal-caller on the mend, too.

So the kid who went 15-1 his first year and won a Super Bowl the next for an encore is back, having met a whole new set of challenges. Look out, NFL: It's no accident that Big Ben may now be better than ever.