Ben Roethlisberger set an NFL record he's probably not thrilled with in home farewell win over Browns

If Monday night's game against the Cleveland Browns ends up being the final home game that Ben Roethlisberger ever plays in his career, then things definitely will have ended on a high note for the quarterback, who threw a touchdown pass in the Steelers' 26-14 win. 

Not only did the Steelers come away with a victory, but Roethlisberger also set an NFL record in the game, although it's a record that he probably won't be bragging about in retirement. In the win, Big Ben completed 24 of 46 passes for 123 yards, which is notable, because it means that Roethlisberger set the NFL record for the fewest passing yards in a game where a quarterback threw 45 or more passes. 

In a twist, the record was actually held by one of Roethlisberger's former backup quarterbacks, Bruce Gradkowski. While playing for the Buccaneers back in 2006, Gradkowski went 20 of 48 for 139 yards in a 17-3 loss to the Giants. In NFL history, those are the only two games ever where a QB didn't throw for at least 150 yards in a game where they had 45 or more attempts. 

Big Ben also combined to set a passing record with Baker Mayfield. 

Of course, the fact that the Steelers won proves that the Football Gods were definitely smiling upon Roethlisberger on Monday night. Going into the game, there had only been 10 instances in NFL history where a QB threw for under 180 yards on 45 or more attempts and those 10 quarterbacks had combined to go 0-10, which means Big Ben became the first QB to ever win a game with those numbers. 

Roethlisberger didn't have a great game, but that didn't matter because nearly everyone else for the Steelers did. Pittsburgh's defense made life miserable for Mayfield, who was sacked nine times (with four of those coming from T.J. Watt). Kicker Chris Boswell came up with four much-needed field goals (50, 48, 30, 22) to give the Steelers some breathing room on the scoreboard. Although Roethlisberger himself wasn't spectacular, he didn't have to be and that's because Najee Harris did more than enough to carry the offense with 188 rushing yards and two scores.

For Big Ben, the only thing that mattered is that his team got the win and that he got to celebrate with the thousands of Steelers fans who have been cheering him on for 18 seasons.