Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers entered Thursday night’s outing against the Minnesota Vikings at 6-5-1 on the season and coming off a huge win over the first-place Baltimore Ravens.
Some figured that said momentum would continue against a Vikings squad reeling after a loss to the previously winless Detroit Lions a few days earlier.
Boy, were those people wrong. The Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely embarrassed themselves inside U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. It was about as pathetic of a peformance we’ve seen in the Mike Tomlin era.
Pittsburgh found itself down 29-0 midway through the third quarter. Big Ben was sacked a whopping five times. The Steelers’ defense looked anything but dominant — yielding 205 rushing yards to Dalvin Cook. Despite making a late-game comeback with 21 fourth-quarter points, Pittsburgh fell by the score of 36-28.
Pittsburgh is done. It’s downright toast. Big Ben will call it quits after the 2021 season. It’s an emphatic end to this era of Steelers football.
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Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers have not been contenders for eons
These Steelers have not earned a spot in the AFC Championship Game since back in 2016 when Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown were starring for the team. Since then, it’s been either an early playoff exit or missing the postseason altogether
- 2017: 13-3, lost divisional round
- 2018: 9-6-1, missed playoffs
- 2019: 8-8, missed playoffs
- 2020: 12-4, lost wildcard
- 2021: 6-6-1, to be determined
Since starting last season with an 11-0 record, Pittsburgh boasts a 7-11-1 record, postseason included. That’s about the worst stretch of action we’ve seen from this historical franchise since Bill Cowher manned the sidelines in the Steel City back in 2003.
With this consistent level of success comes a sense of continuity. Remember, the Steelers have had only three head coaches since the end of the 1968 season. As for Tomlin, he has yet to post a losing record since taking over for the aforementioned Cowher back in 200. Again, that’s absurd.
However, this success and continuity also gives an organization a false sense of relevance once things start swaying in a different direction. We’re at that point with Pittsburgh.
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The Kevin Colbert effect
Pittsburgh’s general manager since 2000, Colbert has guided this organization to two Super Bowl titles while continuing with the build from within mold that has represented the Steelers over the decades.
Unfortunately, he’s missed the mark big time in attempting to find a replacement for Ben Roethlisberger. Internally, there’s some false hope that Mason Rudolph can be the long-term answer. He isn’t. He has never been.
This puts Pittsburgh in a less-than-stellar situation with Roethlisberger now playing his final handful of games for a team without any realistic playoff expectations.
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Finding a Ben Roethlisberger replacement
How this situation is settled will play a huge role in whether the Steelers are relevant on the broader NFL stage in 2022 and beyond.
Perhaps, the team goes against its MO and pulls off a blockbuster trade for a franchise quarterback. After all, the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson could all be available once March comes calling.
There’s also a scenario here that the Pittsburgh Steelers add a stopgap quarterback while selecting a rookie in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Jimmy Garoppolo and Derek Carr could be realistic options.
Either way we spin it, these Steelers are now in uncharted waters. They should be much closer to a full-scale rebuild than boasting a false sense of contention.
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