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On Sunday night, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made what appeared to be his final start in the National Football League after an impressive 18-year career.
The Steelers went into the wild-card game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium as big-time underdogs. While the Steelers showed promise in the first quarter, the Chiefs' offense clicked into gear as the game progressed, with Patrick Mahomes guiding his team to a 42-21 win.
After the game, Roethlisberger met with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in midfield. The two embraced and had a short talk.
Mahomes revealed he told Roethlisberger how much respect he had from him, adding that the two planned to swap jerseys in the future.
“I just told him I have so much respect for him. I’ve watched him growing, and the way he plays the game, he competes to the very end. And he did that this whole entire season.”- said Mahomes
Patrick Mahomes' meeting with Ben Roethlisberger signifies the change of guard moment
After the Pittsburgh Steelers' disappointing wild card loss to the Kansas CIty Chiefs, the two-time Super Bowl champion headed off the field and stopped to speak with Patrick Mahomes. The two, who have said nothing but good things about the other, hugged and talked briefly. While Mahomes said that he told the veteran quarterback that he has learned so much from his game, both quarterbacks acknowledged that they plan to jersey swap in the future. Granted, it most likely won't be the final jersey that he wore is his career.
“I’m gonna get one of these at some point,” said Mahomes to Roethlisberger
“I need one too!”-Roethlisberger said to Mahomes
The two meeting in the midfield signified a "change of the guard," so to speak. The veteran quarterback is a two-time Super Bowl champion who has had a long, storied career. Mahomes, meanwhile, already has one Super Bowl trophy and an NFL MVP award on his resume, with so much more to come.
The 39-year-old quarterback who has talked about his future away from the football field, has yet to officially say that he is retired. But when he does, he will be the last quarterback in the 2004 NFL Draft class to do so. Quarterback Eli Manning retired two seasons ago and Phillip Rivers retired after last season.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will now move on to host the Buffalo Bills at home next Sunday night. Roethlisberger is one of the best passers. He is ranked 7th in NFL's all time record of career passing yards. He is among the six quarterbacks to have won matches against 31 out of 32 teams.
