All we need to do is hang a Terrible Towel at the entrance and we’re done. Go Steelers! Go Daddy!! — Benjamin Jr., Baylee & Bodie.

Yeah, and Bodie has already been officially notified that this IS a fans-only Steelers Snow Fort, so he has to go back in the house and get Mommy to help him put on his Steelers hat or he won’t be able to come back in!! — Benjamin Jr.

“I’ll give you guys one guess who you think I want to play…Obviously, any game that we’re going to play since it’s the postseason is going to be a difficult opponent, but I think just for me personally I’d love to just prove that five interceptions wasn’t me in that game.” –Ben, clearly talking about a rematch with the Jaguars.

Tune in next Sunday, Jan. 14th at 1:05 p.m. for the AFC Divisional Round Game at Heinz Field. The Jaguars, the No. 3 seed in the AFC, defeated the Buffalo Bills, 10-3, in the AFC Wild Card Game, and as the highest advancing seed will play the Steelers.

It will be a rematch of the Steelers 30-9 loss to the Jaguars on Oct. 8th at Heinz Field.

“The ultimate goal is obviously the Super Bowl. In order to get there you have to get to the playoffs. To get here is an honor. You think of all of the teams that aren’t here and aren’t getting this opportunity. I just feel blessed to have an opportunity.” — Ben.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

It doesn’t matter how long Ben Roethlisberger has played, the playoffs are still exciting.

Experience. Don’t think for one second that when it comes to the postseason that it doesn’t matter.

When the Steelers host their AFC Divisional Round Game at Heinz Field on Jan. 14, Ben Roethlisberger will be playing in his 21st postseason game. And it makes a difference.

“The speed picks up a little bit, the intensity, and mistakes are magnified,” said Roethlisberger. “Being there before helps.”

Roethlisberger recalls his first playoff experience his rookie year, when he helped to lead the team to the AFC Championship Game. While he was young and inexperienced then, he relied on the experience around him and hopes the same will hold true for the young players on this year’s Steelers roster.

“It’s been a while, and being your rookie year everything is such a whirlwind,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s a neat experience for guys, your city is excited, your team is excited, and the media is a little more. It’s a lot of fun because you know if you lose you are going home.

“I hope some of the young guys will be benefitted by being on a veteran team. I consider us a veteran team now. Having guys that have been there before to talk to, lead the way by example, definitely helped me.”


Benefitting from the bye: With the first-round playoff bye the Steelers don’t know who their opponent will be yet, but they are still spending this week on the practice field, working on different aspects of their own game.

“We are going to go out and execute our stuff,” said Roethlisberger. “We’re going to practice the two-minute drill today, go through some no-huddle stuff. Those things wouldn’t change no matter who we are playing.

“For us to get that work and get the feel back for each other will be good.”

The schedule the team is maintaining is the same one they do during a regular season game […]

Recap from Ben’s radio show earlier today, courtesy of 93.7 The Fan & CBS Pittsburgh:

It was a slow week for Ben Roethlisberger last week for the best of reasons as he was able to rest in Week 17 against the Browns and he joined “The Cook and Poni Show” for The “#1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show” to talk about the added rest he’s getting and how the team is preparing for the playoffs.

“I had discussions with Coach [Tomlin] in the fourth quarter of the Texans game whenever I was out, I was standing on the sidelines talking to him I said, ‘Hey, I’m not sure what your thought is for next week, but I’d love to get some reps if you’re okay with that.’ He kind of looked at me and said ‘Let me think about it, I’ll let you know,’” Roethlisberger said.

Ben didn’t want to share the exact conversations he had with Tomlin, but admitted he tried to argue for some reps but was turned down.

Asked if there could be any rust after not playing for multiple weeks, Ben didn’t seem concerned.

“Having two weeks off is different than just having a bye week, but on the other hand it is nice to get your body rested up,” he said.

When it was pointed out that he’ll actually go three weeks without playing, he said, “This is the postseason, you’ve got to be ready to go and fired up.”

Looking ahead to who they could face in the second round of the playoffs, Ben admitted he has his sights set on one opponent in particular.

“I’ll give you guys one guess who you think I want to play,” Ben said.

When Ron Cook guessed Jacksonville, the team he threw five interceptions against earlier this year, Ben chuckled and said, “Obviously, any game that we’re going to play since it’s the postseason is going to be a difficult opponent, but I think just for me personally I’d love to just prove that five interceptions wasn’t me in that game.”

Aside from the playoffs, the other big story surrounding the Steelers has been the release of James Harrison and the former Steeler signing with the Patriots. Ben was asked if he saw the Harrison situation as a […]

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

The Steelers will host a Divisional Round playoff game at Heinz Field on January 14.

The Steelers don’t know who their opponent will be in the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs, but the team now knows when they will play.

The Steelers will host a home playoff game at Heinz Field on Sunday, January 14 at 1:05 p.m. They will play the highest seeded team remaining after the AFC Wild Card round.

The potential opponents for the Steelers would be Jacksonville, Kansas City or Tennessee. The Steelers beat both Kansas City and Tennessee in the regular season, and lost to Jacksonville.

This is the first time since the 2010 season that the Steelers have hosted a Divisional Round playoff game, when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 31-24, en route to Super Bowl XLV.


Photo: Ben poses with young fans on the field prior to Sunday’s game. (Matt Freed)