Ben Roethlisberger wonders if tradition of the 'Pittsburgh Steelers is done'

Ben Roethlisberger shared a scathing review of the Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) on the recent episode of his “Footbahlin” podcast.

Roethlisberger, who quarterbacked the Steelers for 18 seasons and won two Super Bowl titles, called out the franchise after the 21-18 Week 14 defeat to the New England Patriots (3-10) last Thursday.

“Maybe the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN.

Roethlisberger added he wasn’t a fan of some of the in-game management decisions made by head coach Mike Tomlin, specifically when it came to his usage of timeouts during the second half with Pittsburgh attempting to mount a comeback.

“You can’t afford in the second half of games to burn silly timeouts. And to not have them late in the game. To me, that’s bad coaching,” Roethlisberger said.

He added: “There’s some feel you have to have in those situations because timeouts can be so valuable, as we saw in this game. If we have one more timeout there, we get a completion. We can work the middle of the field. And all you got to do is give Boz [Chris Boswell] a 60-yard chance. Give him a chance and he’ll tie the game. I like my chances in overtime because they scored all their points early and the momentum had shifted.”

Ben Roethlisberger alarmed by the Steelers’ struggles

In his tenure under center, Roethlisberger never experienced a single losing season. But after back-to-back losses to teams in contention for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh is suddenly in danger of finishing below .500 for the first time under Tomlin.

Roethlisberger said he doesn’t see the same passion from the current version of the Steelers.

“Who is grabbing someone by the face mask and saying, ‘That’s not what we do,'” Roethlisberger said. “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.”