Notable quotes from the late game:

“I love this defense. It’s so much fun to watch.” – Ben.

“It’s a blessing, it’s an honor to play here and show the world what the Steelers are made of.” — JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Tweet of the Game:

Dom Rinelli‏ @drinelli
The 97-yard pass from Ben Roethlisberger to JuJu Smith-Schuster is the longest pass play in #Steelers history & ties as longest off. play.


You can watch video of Ben’s post-game press conference here.


You can watch Ben’s pass to JuJu here.


You can read the game-recap here.


And you can see a few game photos here.

From Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.com:

Ask Ben Roethlisberger about Maurkice Pouncey and the ribbing session begins, unprompted.

“We’re not that close. Because he thinks he’s really good. And he’s just OK,” said Roethlisberger from his locker. “Sometimes I wish Mike [Pouncey] was here.”

All this is said for Pouncey to overhear from his locker, which is two stalls down from Roethlisberger’s corner setup.

“Hey, Mike’s gonna love that s—, too,” Pouncey said.

Eight years of huddles, snaps, text messages and dinners make moments like this feel routine for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback and center.

Or, as Roethlisberger calls it, “being us.”

“We rip each other a little bit, but there’s a lot of love there,” Roethlisberger said.

The Steelers’ colorful offense has the game’s best receiver (Antonio Brown), most disgruntled receiver (Martavis Bryant), most relentless back (Le’Veon Bell) and youngest player (JuJu Smith-Schuster). But at the core are Pouncey and Roethlisberger, two team leaders who are always together and use each other as sounding boards.

The QB-center battery will discuss everything from internet memes to what’s best for the offense.

“If there’s an issue, a lot of times he goes to Maurkice — that’s how the relationship is,” guard Ramon Foster said.

Roethlisberger considers himself an extension of the offensive line, the unit he most needs for success. The receivers, he says, naturally need him because he has the ball. But check most dead moments in practice and Roethlisberger is hanging with Pouncey and the rest of the line.

Roethlisberger took a special liking to Pouncey, who was 21 when the Steelers drafted him in 2010. He felt drawn to him.

“He sees stuff in me that others don’t, I guess,” Pouncey said.

The “stuff” is a fiery persona that carries weight in the locker room. Roethlisberger saw a good player, sure, but also a voice that fuels the Steelers’ intensity throughout the week.

It’s infectious enough that Roethlisberger’s moods run low when Pouncey’s do. Coach Mike Tomlin and former offensive coordinator Bruce Arians used to tell Roethlisberger that his energy, good or bad, affects the rest of the group. And that’s how Roethlisberger feels about Pouncey.

“I told him the other day, something happened, and I said, ‘Pounce, it’s so unusual to see you in a bad mood,'” Roethlisberger said. “When he’s not the same, it kind of brings everybody down. In a way like, […]

Today Ben announced the seventh and eighth grant awards of the 2017 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.

Ben’s foundation will be distributing grants to the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office and the Livonia Police Department, both just outside of Detroit where the Steelers will play the Lions on Sunday, October 29th.

The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office will use the grant funds to add a K-9 to their unit, while the Livonia Police Department will use the funds to purchase safety and training equipment.

Throughout the 2017 NFL season, Ben will continue to distribute grants to K-9 units of police and fire departments in the cities and surrounding communities of each regular season away game for the Steelers.

If the team makes the playoffs, Ben will also consider a grant to a non-NFL market city in the United States. And of course at the end of the season, Ben will distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area.

“We would like to express our gratitude to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation for choosing our office as a grant recipient. This funding will help to build our K-9 program with the purchase of a new dog. Our K-9 units play an important role in our law enforcement efforts, both in the community and our jail, while strengthening our relationship with our citizens.” — Macomb County Sheriff Anthony Wickersham.

Steelers fans:

You can support future K-9 grants by purchasing candy on Sarris Candies’ website, (www.SarrisCandiesFundraising.com), using a special purchase code (77-7777). Sarris will donate 25 percent of the purchase price to the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation. You can also donate directly right here.


For more information about Ben’s foundation, just check out his foundation page. But you can get even more by contacting Jessica Duffaut at www.givingback.org.

“I thought the Heinz Field crowd was spectacular last week. As loud as I have heard it in a long time there. So, thank you.” — Ben’s message to the fans that were in attendance last Sunday.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

Ben Roethlisberger has a Twitter account, but he always makes it clear that he doesn’t run the account (hmmm, wonder who does?). He steers clear of social media, completely and totally.

But he couldn’t help but hear what went on after Sunday’s win over the Bengals, when Martavis Bryant made negative comments on social media regarding his role in the offense, later deleting it, and then posting something positive.

Roethlisberger said the comments surprised him, because that isn’t the Bryant he sees on the field.

“You never hear him complain,” said Roethlisberger, who said he hadn’t talked to Bryant about the comments as of Wednesday morning. “I don’t hear him on the field crying, complaining, throwing his hands up, or not running hard. You see him blocking after other guys catch the ball or during runs. I catch him on the sideline and talk to him about the pictures, like I do with a lot of guys. He is very engaging. That is why all of this was kind of a shock to me.”

Bryant had one reception against the Bengals, a three-yard catch, and was thrown to twice. For the season he has 18 receptions for 234 yards and one touchdown.

“We need to get lots of footballs to him, to everybody,” said Roethlisberger. “We all need to score points because that helps us win game. We have had opportunities. We had a couple of deep balls that were just missed. Whether it’s me overthrowing him. Whether it’s the Chicago game where he slows down a little bit. Whether it’s this last game where he doesn’t see the ball come out of my hands. The plays are there to be had, we just have to make them.

“Maybe it’s on me. I need to maybe give him a better ball to make a play. I will put it on myself first. I am not going to blame him. A couple of those deep balls, if I let him run under them more maybe he will get them.”

His contributions, […]