Like most of those surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers for a majority of their existence, all-time great franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is accustomed to success.
From his first season in Pittsburgh back in 2004 until his retirement in 2021, Big Ben saw the Steelers earn a playoff appearance all but six times. That span saw Pittsburgh win two Super Bowls and find itself in contention pretty much each season.
This has not been the case since Roethlisberger hung up his cleats following the 2021 season. Pittsburgh finished the 2022 campaign with a 9-8 record, missing out on the playoffs. The team might be 7-6 this season, but it is also coming off an ugly loss to the three-win New England Patriots.
As was the case throughout his career, Roethlisberger is still outspoken about the direction of the only organization he suited up for in the NFL. He’s also not happy.
“Maybe the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done,” Roethlisberger said on his podcast recently.
That’s all sorts of harsh. This tradition spans north of nine decades, includes six Super Bowl titles. Continuity has also been the name of the game with only three head coaches since all the way back in 1968.
But what Big Ben is seeing right now doesn’t remind him of the glory days. That includes the recent iteration of current head coach Mike Tomlin.
“You can’t afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts and to not have them late in the game,” Roethlisberger said. “To me, that’s bad coaching.”
As Pittsburgh attempted to rally from behind against New England, the team did not have all of its timeouts. It led to a frantic end of the game and a loss to a Patriots squad that had won just two games heading in.
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Ben Roethlisberger right to blast the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh heads into Week 15 against the Indianapolis Colts as the sixth seed in the AFC Playoff race. It is tied with the Colts, Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills at 7-6 on the season.
Despite being in the playoff race, we’re looking at a team that ranks 27th in the NFL in scoring. Pittsburgh fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada earlier in the season. Kenny Pickett is sidelined with an ankle injury. The team’s offense has scored 10 points or less five times in 13 games.
For Big Ben, he’s just not seeing the same fire on that side of the ball as in the past.
“Who is grabbing someone by the face mask and saying, ‘That’s not what we do,'” Ben Roethlisberger said on his podcast. “Is that happening? Yes, you have guys on defense doing it, but you need guys on other sides of the ball doing it. … You need someone to stand up in that room, on offense, and be like, hey, this isn’t what it means to wear the black and gold.
“This isn’t what has been handed down from those teams of the ’70s. The Steel Curtain, the four Super Bowls, the Nolls, the Bradshaws, the Blounts. All those people, it’s unbelievable.”
When one of the greatest players in franchise history is calling you out in this manner, you know something isn’t going right.
Pittsburgh’s defense certainly is living up to its end of the bargain. This unit ranks seventh in the NFL in points against at 19.2 per. That’s despite ranking in the bottom 12 in yards allowed. Led by T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh’s defense is a reminder of the “Steel Curtain” glory days.
The question now is whether the Steelers’ offense can find some sort of success heading into the final month of the regular season. If not, some dramatic changes could be in store. And if you listen to Big Ben, that could include a divorce from Mike Tomlin and just the fourth coaching change in the past 55-plus years.