The first time that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning faced each other as professional athletes, it was in 2004, during their rookie season. Manning was the top pick of the draft. Roethlisberger slid outside the top 10 picks to land with Pittsburgh at 11.
Neither player had built up much of a resume by that point. Neither had started the season opener. Roethlisberger entered the starting lineup a couple games into his rookie season due to injury, while Manning went back and forth with Kurt Warner.