Tag: Ben Roethlisberger

Former Steelers QB frustrated by botched plays in Week 15 loss

Ben Roethlisberger voices his frustrations over the Steelers’ Week 15 loss to the Eagles, pointing to key moments that sealed their fate.

While watching the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 15 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles, one legendary Steelers quarterback shared the disappointment felt by much of the Black and Gold faithful.

Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, while discussing Pittsburgh’s loss in Week 15 with co-host Spencer Te’o on his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, revealed the specific plays he deemed game “killers.”

Big Ben expressed frustrations with areas of the Steelers’ offense that fans have collectively agreed need improvement: finding a reliable WR2 and avoiding slow starts in the first half.

Roethlisberger highlighted a few plays in particular that he believed were “killers” for any hope of a late-game comeback against the Eagles in Week 15: “Najee fumbling the toss sweep—that was a killer.” He then pointed to what he argued was an even greater misstep: “I think one of the killers was Coach T punting on like the 47ish [yard line]. They never got the ball back.”

While the Pittsburgh Steelers’ overall performance was rough in Week 15, is Roethlisberger correct in his analysis that Harris and head coach Mike Tomlin’s “killer” plays sealed the Black and Gold’s loss?

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Former Steelers QB considers Browns fans amongst the best in the NFL

Ben Roethlisberger says AFC North rival, the Cleveland Browns, have one of the top fan bases in the NFL, despite regulary beating them down.

Did Big Ben lose a bet?  Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger said Browns fans rank among the NFL’s best. It’s hard to imagine any former Pittsburgh Steelers player having anything kind to say about an AFC North rival, let alone Roethlisberger, who built his career on beating down on the Browns consistently.

During episode 61 of his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ben was asked to name his personal top five NFL fan bases, excluding the Steelers. In no particular order, he listed the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, and Cleveland Browns as having the most passionate fans. While all of these teams have fans who brave any weather conditions to support their teams, Roethlisberger noted that what he respects most about Browns fans is their unwavering dedication despite Cleveland’s losing history.

Humorously, Roethlisberger explained why Cleveland fans deserved this recognition: “The fans want a winner. They might be there with brown paper bags on their heads, but the dog pound is the dog pound.”

Cleveland fans will surely appreciate Roethlisberger’s nod of respect, especially considering how often he dominated the Browns during his career.

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Steelers hold historic streak over Browns

The Steelers just don’t lose to the Browns at home during the regular season.

When it comes to the rivalries of the AFC North and even going back to the AFC Central, few have the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. However, over the course of the last two decades, the Steelers have held absolute dominance over the Browns when they come to Pittsburgh.

In fact, the last time the Browns beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh during the regular season we have to go all the way back to 2003 when the Browns beat the Steelers 33-13. We aren’t going to talk about the Steelers home playoff loss to the Browns in 2020 when a 501-yard effort by Ben Roethlisberger was wasted by a porous Steelers defense.

So that’s 20 straight regular-season wins for the Steelers at home. That alone should be reason enough to feel confident in Pittsburgh this week but the Steelers are also eyeing some revenge for an upset loss just two weeks ago.

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Russell Wilson first Steelers QB since 2021 to achieve this feat

Russell Wilson became the first Steelers QB since Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement to throw for over 300 yards and 3 TDs in a single game.

Fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers who miss Ben Roethlisberger’s ability to sling the football—and what it meant to the Black and Gold passing attack—were ecstatic about the team’s Week 13 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. Steelers QB Russell Wilson, who has looked consistently great since assuming the starting role over Justin Fields, threw for 414 yards and 3 TDs while averaging an incredible 10.9 yards per pass.

Why are the Black and Gold faithful so excited, and why is this the biggest takeaway from Week 13? One simple reason: the last Steelers QB to throw for over 300 yards and 3+ TDs was none other than Big Ben back in 2021.

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To keep the analysis short and to the point: Russ cooked the Bengals’ defense. While the Cincinnati-based AFC North divisional rivals have struggled to contain opposing offenses, no one can deny that Wilson is starting to look like the Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB of the future.

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Russell Wilson defends George Pickens’ Week 12 Hail Mary participation

Steelers QB Russell Wilson defended George Pickens after Week 12, crediting the Browns’ defense instead of placing fault on his teammate.

While there may be a fine line between practice squad players and starters, there appears to be an enormous gap in the opinions of the former and current quarterbacks for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Steelers QB Russell Wilson appears to hold a completely opposite stance to that of former legendary Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger regarding WR George Pickens’ less-than-ideal participation on Week 12’s Hail Mary play, which led to Pittsburgh’s third loss of the season.

While Roethlisberger pulled no punches on his podcast, stating that Pickens drove him “bonkers” during the game, Wilson defended his teammate and number one WR during Wednesday’s media availability. As shown by ESPN reporter Brooke Pryor on social media, Wilson credited the Cleveland Browns’ defense rather than placing any fault on Pickens:

This could be Wilson trying his best to keep his receiver in good spirits, but it is truly inspiring to see the quarterback display impressive qualities of leadership and poise after such a heartbreaking play and loss in Week 12.

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Former Steelers QB offers harsh criticism of WR George Pickens

Ben Roethlisberger calls out George Pickens for his role in the Steelers’ failed Hail Mary, offering tough love on his podcast.

Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, along with much of Steelers Nation, was upset to witness one of the most poorly executed Hail Mary plays in NFL history.

During Big Ben’s podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former Steelers QB’s mood immediately soured when discussing WR George Pickens and his role in the failed Hail Mary play: “George is fighting with a guy before the ball is even in the air.”

Big Ben continued by offering Pickens some tough love, stating, “I’d like to see George in that situation, get out of your head for a second, like try and make a play first. If you want to fight a dude and do all this at the end of the game, which seems to be like what he’s doing now, if you want to do that at the end when the play’s over, go for it.”

Pickens should take Big Ben’s words to heart, as his immature antics seem to be escalating with each week. Fans can only hope he redeems himself in time for Week 13’s contest against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Former Steelers QB believes team was rushed on Week 12 field goal miss

Big Ben joins fans in critiquing the Steelers’ time management issues during their Week 12 loss, specifically on a missed field goal.

Steelers fans and former players unite! It appears former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger shares a similar sentiment with fans concerned about Pittsburgh’s poor time management during the team’s Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns—specifically one rushed play that led to Chris Boswell missing a 58-yard field goal.

On the most recent episode of Big Ben’s podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former QB stated, “What felt weird to me is that it felt rushed. The field goal felt rushed. Was it a late field goal call? Was Coach Tomlin thinking about punting it first and then he’s like, ‘Oh, let’s go field goal,’ because it just looked like the play clock was getting low.”

Roethlisberger’s analysis, like his throws against Cleveland, is right on the money. Tomlin also seemed confused and lost with the use of timeouts in the second half, and it appeared the team was unprepared throughout the winter wonderland that was Week 12’s Thursday Night Football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will look to improve their preparedness ahead of an impressive Cincinnati Bengals offense in Week 13 on December 1st at 1:00 PM EST.

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Ben Roethlisberger questions Mike Tomlin’s Week 12 coaching decisions

Ben Roethlisberger joined in on questioning Mike Tomlin’s coaching calls, particularly his fourth-down decisions against the Browns.

The ‘Week 12 Mike Tomlin criticism party’ was beginning to conclude, until former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw his name into the hat of those questioning Tomlin’s strange coaching decisions against the Cleveland Browns.

On Roethlisberger’s podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, the former QB highlighted Tomlin’s fourth-down decisions in particular: “Did he ever consider punting on some of those fourth downs, or just trying to flip the field? You know, like let’s play the field position game, because there were times going for it on fourth down, going for a long field goal, you gave them the field position.”

Roethlisberger’s criticisms ring true, as if Pittsburgh had punted on some of the fourth downs, the Steelers might have improved to 9-2 on the season after last week’s Thursday Night Football game.

While Tomlin’s risks and questionable decisions may never truly satisfy Steelers fans, one can only wonder if the threat posed by the Cincinnati Bengals may be enough to shock Tomlin’s decision-making into shape.

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Former Steelers QB wants to see Justin Fields line up at WR

Former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger shared an unconventional idea for the Steelers offense: using Justin Fields at wide receiver.

Strange circumstances from Week 12’s loss have sparked even stranger ideas for fixing the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. While fans, analysts, and coaches have zeroed in on the Steelers’ red zone inefficiency as an area needing improvement, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger had an interesting suggestion of his own for the offense moving forward: Justin Fields at wide receiver.

During the most recent episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, Big Ben stated, “The nice thing is that when you use Justin a little bit at quarterback, it forces you as a defense, or opposing team, to spend a little bit of time at practice. I would like to see [them] line him up at receiver a couple times.”

Roethlisberger continued to argue that putting Fields in different positions forces defenses to spend additional time preparing to face the Steelers.

With this in mind, should the Pittsburgh Steelers implement Fields into different roles on offense, or was the failed package from Week 12 enough to discourage any further experimentation?

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Former Steelers QB trolls Browns in hilarious fashion

Ben Roethlisberger keeps his rivalry with Cleveland alive, confidently predicting a Steelers victory over the Browns in Week 12.

Even in his retirement, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger continues to show Cleveland why he still owns the Browns. On his podcast, Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, his co-host Spencer Te’o asked the legendary Pittsburgh QB to share his thoughts on the Browns-Saints Week 11 results.

Roethlisberger quickly gave credit to Browns QB Jameis Winston for nearly throwing for 400 yards but immediately shifted to roasting the Cleveland defense: “That sounds great, but I think the Browns’ defense gave up 200-plus, almost 300 yards rushing, made Taysom Hill look like Bo Jackson.”

Big Ben continued his roast of Cleveland, stating that the NFL might as well just give the Steelers the win automatically before their Week 12 matchup with the Browns on Thursday Night Football. Roethlisberger stated, “We don’t even need to play the game Thursday, really, to be honest.”

In what is shaping up to be a complete mismatch, Roethlisberger has the utmost confidence in his 8-2 Pittsburgh Steelers to defeat the 2-8 Cleveland Browns in this week’s Thursday Night Football on November 21 at 8:15 PM EST.

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