Despite holding the No. 6 seed in the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers are clearly underachieving this season.
Perhaps no one is more frustrated than Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who chastised the team’s current leadership group on a recent episode of his podcast “Footbahlin’ with Ben Roethlisberger.”
“It just feels like [certain guys aren’t in it for the team, they’re in it for themselves], it just feels like something that’s kind of been lost on this team a little bit,” Roethlisberger was quoted as saying. “It just doesn’t feel like ‘the Steeler way’ is there.” … Perhaps the Pittsburgh Steelers’ tradition is over. Perhaps it needs to be formed in a different way. “I’m not sure.”
Outside of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt, Ryan Clark believes the Steelers Way no longer exists. Ben Roethlisberger believes the Steelers Way has been lost without Fitzpatrick, Heyward, and Watt. According to Roethlisberger, the Steelers lack true offensive leaders.…
Roethlisberger’s remarks come on the heels of recent glimpses of division played out in the public eye. Over the last few weeks, running back Najee Harris has vented his frustration regarding the way the Steelers have played, and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick called out some of his teammates for a lack of effort.
While he was complimentary of Pittsburgh’s defense, Roethlisberger seemed to take exception with the perceived softness of the team’s offense, stating they weren’t embodying any of the traditions passed down from players like himself, running back Jerome Bettis or center Alan Faneca.“You have it on defense — don’t get me wrong — but you don’t have it on offense right now, and it’s just making it really hard,” Roethlisberger added. “You’re not seeing, in my opinion, the toughness on offense. And I say toughness in the sense of a Steeler toughness. … 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.”
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