The Pittsburgh Steelers saw their 11-0 start to the 2020 season end with a 48-37 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card round on Sunday. And in the moments after the loss, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was overcome with emotion.
The NBC broadcast showed a tearful Roethlisberger on the bench with longtime Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey who had spent his entire NFL career with the Steelers. Reports out of Pittsburgh pointed to Pouncey’s likely retirement after the loss, and with that in mind, Roethlisberger’s emotional reaction made all the more sense.
NFL Films released mic’d-up video on Monday of that conversation, and we could hear as Roethlisberger apologized to Pouncey for letting him down.
Ben Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey shared an emotional moment after last night's loss.
(via @NFLFilms) pic.twitter.com/87DfQvhb8r
— Stadium (@Stadium) January 11, 2021
Roethlisberger said:
“I’m sorry, brother. You’re the only reason I wanted to do this, man. … Oh, I feel worse for you than me. I hate it, man.”
Just judging from that, Roethlisberger certainly felt that Pouncey had played his final NFL game. The two had been teammates since 2010. Pouncey lost in his lone Super Bowl appearance as a rookie against the Green Bay Packers.