Year in Review: Recapping Pittsburgh Steelers' 2017 Season | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

Though the Steelers opened the first half of their season with a 6-2 record, not all was well on the offensive side of the ball.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played erratically through their first eight games, struggling to score on the road and at home. He threw 10 touchdowns to nine interceptions in that span, including being picked off five times in a Week 5 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

However, a switch flipped following the Steelers' Week 9 bye; since then, Roethlisberger has been one of the most effective quarterbacks in the league.

In September, he completed 62.73 percent of his passes, throwing five touchdowns to one interception. In October, he had a completion percentage of just 60, with five scores to eight interceptions thrown.

In November, though, his completion percentage rose to 67.77 percent, with 10 touchdowns thrown to three picks; in December, the 35-year-old has completed 66.67 percent of his passes, with eight touchdowns thrown to two interceptions.

The Steelers have thus lost only one of their last seven contests and Roethlisberger has thrown 18 touchdowns to five picks over that span.

Though the Steelers' season hinges on more than just the performance of one player, there is also no question that the quality of quarterback play is one of the greatest indicators of overall success in the NFL.

Where Roethlisberger was among those holding his team back earlier this year, he's now one of the reasons why they have secured a first-round bye and no lower than the No. 2 seed in the AFC.

Roethlisberger's 2017 campaign is a testament to a season being less about how it begins and more about how it finishes.