Ben Roethlisberger is worried the “Steeler Way” is a thing of the past.
In a rebuke that will resonate throughout the Steel City, the longtime Steelers quarterback said the team no longer instills fear in opponents the way it did during his 18 seasons in Pittsburgh.
“I just feel like people aren’t afraid to play the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore,” Roethlisberger, 41, said this week on his “Footbahlin” podcast. “Maybe the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done. Maybe it needs to be formed a new kind of way, I don’t know.”
The two-time Super Bowl winner’s stinging comments come in the wake of a pair of brutal home losses without injured starting quarterback Kenny Pickett, dropping the Steelers into a tie with five other 7-6 teams currently vying for the final two AFC wild-card spots.
Four days after a 24-10 loss to the 2-10 Cardinals on Dec. 3, the Steelers fell to the 2-10 Patriots by three on “Thursday Night Football.”
In the loss to New England, Pittsburgh found itself with no timeouts down the stretch after having to burn one before a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak with 7:13 left in the fourth quarter.
Roethlisberger put some blame on head coach Mike Tomlin.
“At the end of that game, if we have one more timeout, we have another chance,” Roethlisberger said. “You can’t afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts and not to have them late in the game. To me, that’s bad coaching.”
The Steelers were also hurt by a controversial false start penalty against long snapper Christian Kuntz on a fourth-and-3
Had the Steelers — who fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada last month — beaten the two lowly teams at home, they’d be one game behind the Ravens for the AFC North lead and the No. 1 seed in the conference.
Roethlisberger talked about upholding traditions that were passed down to him and noted a “changing of the guard” with regard to how modern players operate, such as playing music in the locker room.
While he does feel the Steelers’ defense is intimidating, he’s particularly worried about the offense lacking “toughness” and anyone who will pull the group together.
“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,’” Roethlisberger said.
Roethlisberger, a six-time Pro Bowler, is fifth on the NFL’s all-time passing list with 64,088 yards and eighth all-time with 418 touchdown passes.
Pickett is out after undergoing surgery to fix a high-ankle sprain and will miss his third straight game in Week 15, with Mitch Trubisky drawing another start for the Steelers’ massive road game against the 7-6 Colts on Saturday.
Based on tiebreakers, the Steelers are currently No. 6 in the AFC and the Colts are No. 7.
The Steelers’ last home game is against the Bengals on Dec. 23 and they finish with road games against the Seahawks and Ravens.
