Big Ben's boys: Who did Roethlisberger throw the most touchdowns to during his career

For the past 18 years, Ben Roethlisberger has been the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Next year, he'll be watching.

Roethlisberger officially called it a career Thursday when he announced in a video posted on his Twitter page that he is stepping away from the game.

He's been quite successful as the quarterback, winning two Super Bowls, 418 passing touchdowns and the fifth-most passing yards in NFL history with 64,088.

Roethlisberger was the leader of the Steelers and the guy everyone turned to when they needed a big play. But he didn't do it alone.

The quarterback had a talented list of skill players around him, including running backs Le'Veon Bell, Jerome Bettis and even this season with rookie Najee Harris.

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But Roethlisberger also had a lot of great pass catchers. In fact, during his career, he threw double-digit touchdown passes to 12 of them.

Here is a list of the 12 guys Roethlisberger threw his most touchdown passes to during his storied career.

Ben's favorite targets

1. Antonio Brown

Recently cut by the Buccaneers, Brown caught 72 touchdowns from Big Ben.

2. Hines Ward

When he wasn't ripping him for missing games with a concussion, Ward hauled in 41 TD passes from Roethlisberger.

2 (tied). Heath Miller

Whenever Roethlisberger needed a few yards, he threw to his favorite tight end, who grabbed 41 scores from Ben.

4. Mike Wallace

Wallace hauled in 29 scores from Ben before leaving via free agency.

5. Juju Smith-Schuster

Juju's 19 TD's from Roethlisberger made him one of his favorite targets in recent years.

6. Santonio Holmes

During his Steelers career, 17 of Holmes' 20 TDs came from Ben.

7. Dionte Johnson

He may drop a lot of passes, but he also celebrated 15 times with Roethlisberger after scoring.

8. Martavis Bryant

Had he not been suspended for a year or left for Oakland via free agency, Bryant may have had more than 14 of Roethlisberger's touchdowns.

9. Jerricho Cotchery

After struggling with the New York Jets, Cotchery grabbed 12 touchdowns with Big Ben.

10. Emmanuel Sanders

He's still playing, and has been good elsewhere, but Emmanuel Sanders' best days were when he caught 11 scores from Roethlisberger.

10 (tied). Nate Washington

Mostly a slot receiver, Washington excelled while playing and catching 11 touchdowns from Big Ben.

12. Chase Claypool

The second-year wideout probably would have continued his success with Roethlisberger, catching 10 scores in two years from the veteran signal-caller.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Ben Roethlisberger's sendoff: Quarterback had some great receivers