Steeler Nation celebrates Christmas like they celebrate team wins!!


Whether they’re ringing a bell in front of a store for the Salvation Army, taking selfies, or decorating the tree….it’s all about mixing Black & Gold in with the red & green!


You can see all the great photos that were submitted right here (2 pages worth!).



Also, thank you Steeler Nation

…for donating to The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation on #GivingTuesdays the whole month of December!



…for coming out strong to help Wreaths Across America throughout the country this month to place wreaths on the graves of our military! We received several emails & facebook comments from those who volunteered and were glad they did.

“Arlington National Cemetery said there were 70,000 volunteers there on Saturday, December 12th, and we laid over 900,000 wreaths nationwide!” — Renee Worcester, Wreaths Across America.

And a personal “Thank You” to those volunteers who placed wreaths on the graves of my parents and Godparents (above) at Arlington National Cemetery. God bless you! — Erin

“He’s the key. You put another quarterback in there and they are not the same.” — Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib on Big Ben.

“We just wanna take it one [game] at a time. We’ve got a divisional opponent this week at their place, so that’s gonna be our focus. We believe in each other and in the system, and guys make plays. I thought the line did an unbelievable job with the pass rush they have, and helping get me some time, and receivers got open, and when they weren’t open, they found ways to make plays.” — Ben.

From Jeremy Fowler, ESPN.com:

“Steelers can beat anyone with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown”

This team was buried.

Down 17 points to the Denver Broncos, defense lifeless, offense sluggish, Brock Osweiler punishing.

Then the Pittsburgh Steelers gripped the game with both hands and shook Heinz Field.

Lesson No. 1,176 — the Steelers are never truly out of a game with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. The two were phenomenal with 16 connections for 189 yards and two touchdowns against, oh, just the league’s best defense in a 34-27 win.

Brown carried the Steelers for parts of this game. Throw defensive coverages out the window, Roethlisberger said.

“AB was AB. Period,” Roethlisberger said.

The Steelers can tilt a game’s momentum in seconds. Ryan Shazier’s fourth-quarter interception turned into a touchdown three plays later thanks to Roethlisberger’s 23-yarder to Brown with 3:24 left.

Dangerous. Playoff dangerous.


You can read more here.

“Ben Roethlisberger is THE best quarterback in the NFL right now….he went through that Denver defense like it was swiss cheese!!”. — Mike Greenberg, Mike & Mike this morning.

And from Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

“Steelers gladly live with Roethlisberger”

They met in the Steelers locker room after the game, general manager Kevin Colbert and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Colbert was ecstatic. The Steelers had just climbed out of a 27-10 hole, rallying against the NFL’s best defense to beat the Denver Broncos, 34-27. Roethlisberger was relieved. He threw a late interception that could have ruined his and his team’s otherwise spectacular second-half performance.

“I told Kevin, ‘I’ve got to stop trying to make plays,’ ” Roethlisberger said. “He said, ‘No, you don’t. We’ll always live with you and die with you.’ It makes you feel good.”

Roethlisberger made plenty […]

And Big Ben is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week:

Against the NFL’s best defense, Roethlisberger passed for 380 yards and 3 TDs.

The comeback was fashioned largely on the talents of his right arm, and then just when it seemed as though the Steelers were about to ice their biggest comeback victory since Oct. 5, 1997 in Baltimore against the Ravens, that same right arm pumped life into a Broncos offense that had been on life support through the whole second half with an ill-advised interception. But football being the ultimate team sport, the defense rose up and turned the ball back over on downs.

And then when a situation arose when the Steelers were presented with a chance to clinch the victory, his right arm delivered one last play for his team.

Ben Roethlisberger finished 40-of-55 for 380 yards, with three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a rating of 94.5, and he was the offense on a day when the Steelers rushed for only 26 yards before kneel-down time. Roethlisberger’s three touchdown passes came in a second half that had the Steelers erase a 27-13 halftime deficit, and then on a third-and-5 from the Pittsburgh 46-yard line with 90 seconds left Ben Roethlisberger delivered the dagger with a perfectly thrown sideline pass to Antonio Brown for 8 yards and the first down that sent the Steelers into victory formation on the way to a 34-27 win over the Denver Broncos.

Roethlisberger is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.


You can read more from Mr. Labriola here.

You can watch game highlights here.

Ben Roethlisberger FIRST quarterback to throw for 300 yards in a game vs. Denver since Dec. 7, 2014 (Buffalo: Kyle Orton). #Steelers

— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) December 21, 2015

From Teresa Varley this weekend at Steelers.com:

Magic. That truly is the only way to describe what happened after Steelers practice on Friday. Pure magic.

Moments after the team headed into the locker room, Ben Roethlisberger made his way over to Mary Evansic, a 10-year old from Tehachapi, California, who was at practice as a guest of the team through Make-A-Wish.

Evansic’s wish was to catch a pass from Roethlisberger, something that is normally reserved for Antonio Brown, Marcus Wheaton, Martavis Bryant, Heath Miller and company.

Roethlisberger grabbed one of the footballs from practice, and along with Brown, played catch with Evansic. It was a moment that would melt anyone’s heart.

“She has been a fan of Ben’s for as long as she has been able to talk,” said her father, Leonard Evansic. “This summer she had a surgery that had her in the hospital for six weeks. What really kept her going was telling everybody she was going to meet Ben and the Steelers. That was a really big thing for her. It pulled her through it.”

Evansic, who has cerebral palsy, lit up from the moment she met Roethlisberger and all of his Steelers’ teammates and the smile will likely last for a long time, including Sunday when she is the guest of the team at Heinz Field for the game against the Broncos.

“This was really special,” said her father. “It’s really hard to describe. It’s been a phenomenal experience so far. We can’t wait to have her at the game on Sunday. She was born to cheer for the Steelers.”

Thank you once again to Ms. Varley for sharing her video (below) with us and the many beautiful photos from Mary’s day here.

Playing catch with Big Ben and even having Antonio Brown catch one of her passes!!

Thank you so much to the Steelers’ Teresa Varley for capturing this moment on her phone and sharing it with us!



Also Today – and in the spirit of the holiday season:


The Offensive Line is truly offensive as they try and sing (can you find Ben?)….


Listen to them here. Fair warning: The MUTE button is your friend!



You may want to just keep the MUTE button on – it really doesn’t get any better. Trust me!


Listen to them here…if you dare!! lol.

started out on a great note….or actually many great notes – as in music notes:


The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed holiday music for the Steelers to help kick off the holiday season.

Enjoy the video here.



It was followed by Ben’s Q&A with the media:

On if he feels like officials are doing enough to protect quarterbacks in the league:

Yes, I guess so. Got to be careful how I answer that, I guess, so I don’t get in trouble.


On if he would prefer Peyton Manning playing this game:

To me, I have enough to worry about with their defense. I can’t worry about who they have going at quarterback, because if I think for even two seconds about their offense, I’m going to be in trouble because their defense is that good.


On teams pressing Antonio Brown at the line:

Some teams try that. Sometimes it works, sometimes you fail miserably at it. He’s one of the best in the world for a reason. He can get open against press, or off. I’m happy he’s on my side.


On Vontaze Burfict:

He’s a physical football player. He gets after it and that’s what you love about the game, his physicality and getting after it. So, I’m done worrying about that. It’s behind us, we have to move forward now.


On his group of receivers now compared to before:

It’s another good group. A.B. is A.B. and I think the other guys are young guys trying to be great. Markus Wheaton sits in here every day and we talk and communicate, and Martavis is the same way. I think each one just brings something different to the table.


On what’s contributed to the success you guys have had in the two-minute drill this year:

Just everybody understanding what’s going on, the extra effort, the work, the communication. It’s really just a big part of it. If you can sync, communicate and work together and even just talk, sit down next to Markus or A.B. or Heath Miller and just communicate in the locker room. It can go a long way on the field.


On having the same coordinator for four years:

That helps a lot. The more comfortable you get, you start almost calling the same plays. You’re calling something, or he’s calling it in. So, the faith and trust the coaching staff has […]