From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

It’s the time of year when honors are handed out and that was the case when Ben Roethlisberger and Chase Claypool were both honored by the Pittsburgh Chapter of Pro Football Writers of America. Roethlisberger is the winner of ‘The Chief’ Award, while Claypool won the Joe Greene Great Performance Award, presented to the team’s top rookie.

‘The Chief’ Award, which was established in honor of Steelers’ founder, Arthur J. Rooney, Sr., is presented annually to a member of the Steelers’ organization that best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation with the media that he embodied. This is the second time Roethlisberger won the award, previously doing so in 2010.

In a year like no other working with the media, Roethlisberger is always willing to step up no matter what the situation. Whether it was during the week or after games, he has mastered being available via Zoom through good and bad. He has never shied away from talking and answers every question. He is so consistent that Wednesdays are now affectionately called ‘Bensday.’

And Roethlisberger has had a consistent message the entire season. It hasn’t been about statistics, but just about winning and getting back to where the Steelers are accustomed to being, the postseason.

“I would say the biggest stat is (the record),” said Roethlisberger earlier this season. “I don’t think anybody cares about their stats right now. No one is complaining. No one is coming to me. I am not exactly playing lights out. Their stats are directly reflective of the way I play. If I am not playing well, their stats aren’t going to be very good. Obviously, some of their numbers are down because I am not playing as well as I should be and need to be playing.”

Roethlisberger, who is in his 17th season and holds the Steelers record for most games played with 233, provided insight into multiple areas this season that he hadn’t previously. For starters, the potential Hall of Fame quarterback spent time in practice early in the season working on anything from the basics a rookie would focus on to the minute details that makes him the perfectionist he is.

“Going back and reviewing, I felt from Week 1 to Week 2, my pocket presence and awareness was better,” explained Roethlisberger early […]

“There’s one bye available in this single-elimination tournament. We’re not going to be that team (with the bye). We made that bed, and so we’re prepared to lay in it. That’s the most significant variable for us, and so with that being said, given an opportunity to airmail a player or two to the postseason, we will. Ben will not be playing this week. We’ll turn toward Mason Rudolph and our young quarterback positional group and give those guys an opportunity.” — Coach Tomlin, during his Tuesday press conference.

From Bob Labriola, Steelers.com:

Administratively, his options are limited.

It cannot be treated like a preseason game, because he won’t have between 80 to 90 players in uniform on the sideline. He can’t rest all of his starters plus his significant backups, because with 48 players at most available for the game, the numbers simply do not work. And so Coach Mike Tomlin will not treat Sunday’s regular season finale in Cleveland against the Browns as a de facto bye week because he cannot, even if he wanted to.

The Steelers already had clinched a spot in the playoffs, and then with last Sunday’s victory over the Indianapolis Colts they clinched the AFC North Division title. Buffalo clinches the No. 2 seed with a win over Miami or a loss by the Steelers. The Steelers can do no worse than enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed, but they could get to No. 2 by beating the Browns if the Dolphins beat the Bills.

During a year in which homefield advantage has been watered down by COVID restrictions on large gatherings, the difference between a No. 2 seed and a No. 3 seed is close to insignificant. But there are other factors that will prevent Tomlin from manufacturing a Week 17 bye for his team.

“We’ll look potentially at resting some other guys in terms of making them inactive, but the number of those guys and who those guys are will be determined as we push through the week. Player availability dictates that,” said Tomlin.

“The only thing I’m willing to acknowledge at this point is that Ben will not play, and so we’ll formulate a plan with that understanding. All of the other variables in terms of who’s playing and who’s not, we’ll determine […]

From Bob Labriola, Steelers.com:

The Pittsburgh Steelers were in a tough spot with respect to this game against the Indianapolis Colts, and in a bad spot with respect to their season. They needed someone to lead a rally, someone they could rally around. Once again, that someone was Ben Roethlisberger.

Staring at a 21-7 halftime deficit that grew to 24-7 on the first possession of the third quarter, things seemed as bleak for the Steelers as they had been at any point during this COVID-infested NFL regular season. Then Roethlisberger brought them back.

“I’ve been watching Ben like you guys have for 17 years, man. Half a game is not going to define him. He’s a competitor. As long as there’s time on the clock, he’s going to keep coming at you.” — Coach Tomlin.

During a 10-and-a-half-minute span in the second half, Roethlisberger threw three touchdowns passes while completing 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) for 244 yards, with three touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 136.2 during the game’s final 30 minutes to lead the Steelers to a 28-24 victory over the Colts that clinched the AFC North Division title for them.

The victory was far from a one-man show, but there’s no argument that Roethlisberger was the linchpin for what happened during the turnaround. It’s what great quarterbacks do for their teams, and Roethlisberger showed once again why he deserves to be recognized as a great quarterback.


You can read more here.


Did You Know?

This game marked Ben’s 35th career fourth-quarter comeback, breaking a tie with Johnny Unitas for fourth all time. Ahead of him: Manning (43), Brady (39), and Brees (36)

It was also Ben’s 46th game-winning drive (fifth all time behind Manning, Brees, Brady & Marino).

*Thank you Steel City Blitz for the great stats!

I’m just proud of the way the guys fought today – all the way to the end. It was team effort today, and it was fun! This was a heck of a game. The Lord blessed us today…this is unbelievable! — Ben, to CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

From Brooke Pryer, ESPN.com:

While many were already busy writing the postmortem for Ben Roethlisberger’s career, the 38-year-old quarterback penned an improbable chapter in his comeback with the help of his resurgent defense in a 28-24 comeback win to defeat the Indianapolis Colts.

Roethlisberger helped the Steelers climb out of a 17-point hole with touchdown throws on three consecutive drives as the offense scored 21 unanswered points in 11 minutes.

With the win, Roethlisberger is 3-24 in his career when trailing by 17-plus points, and the 17-point comeback matches the largest comebacks of his career, joining 2017 Week 13 at the Bengals and 2015 Week 15 against the Broncos.

We need to execute the plays no matter who’s calling them and I thought Randy called a good game tonight…we didn’t execute when he called the good plays. — Ben, on the first half.

Sunday marked the first time the club won when trailing by at least 17 points in the second half with Mike Tomlin as head coach. It was the first time since 2002 — and just the fifth time in franchise history — the Steelers came back from a 17-point second-half deficit to win.

The Steelers clinched their first AFC North title since 2017, but more importantly, they halted a three-game skid and avoided becoming the first team in league history to lose four consecutive regular-season games after an 11-0 start.

Roethlisberger rebounded to finish 34-of-49 for 342 yards and three touchdowns, but he started out 11-of-20 for 98 yards in the first half. The Steelers’ first half looked suspiciously like their first-half debacle in Cincinnati, as they dug themselves into a 21-7 hole by halftime.

You can read more here.

You can watch Ben’s post-game interview here.

You can seem more great game photos from Steelers photographers Karl Roser, Jared Wickerham & Caitlyn Epes here.

I’m so thankful that they’re our defense. We want to play offensively for them. They’ve done so much to keep us in […]

From Steelers Takeaways exclusive interview with former Steelers WR Eli Rogers:

What are some of the best off-field memories you have of your time in Pittsburgh?

“One recent memory was the opportunity to go to Ben’s house and experience his life an spend time with him. To bond and connect with him as a person. We shared some good times and talks – I’m very thankful for that memory. That always stays in the center of my mind.”



What about that time impacted you so much?

“Just from where I came from – I had my dreams of success. To be able to hang out with a Hall of Fame quarterback – to see how he lived and spend time at his beach house with his family – just seeing where he is in his life. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be able to do that with someone of his caliber. It holds a great magnitude of importance to me.”


Any off-field memories that stand out?

“One memory that I’m sure many Steelers fans remember. It was a Christmas night game versus the Ravens. It was the last drive and we were going no-huddle. Ben hit some guys downfield and we were driving. It was third and 12 and Ben rolled to his right and I made a great catch for the first down. I came across the middle as he was rolling out and he threw it in an area where I could make a catch and I made a great catch. That memory stands out for me.”


You can read their full interview here.

“We all need to perform better, and it starts with me. I have to complete passes, if that’s the call. If it’s run, then we have to get hats on hats, if you will. Once again, you guys are asking questions that if I had an answer to it, we wouldn’t be having these issues. We can’t fix anything until we get out there on Sunday really.” — Ben.

From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:

The Steelers got off to a slow start last week against the Bengals, heading into halftime already down 17-0, a deficit they couldn’t dig out of.

It wasn’t the first time they have found themselves struggling early on in games, something Ben Roethlisberger knows needs to get fixed, and fixed now.

“It feels like it’s something different every week,” said Roethlisberger. “It’s hard to really nail down one thing, but it’s something that’s very important to us and we need to get fixed now.”

One thing Roethlisberger has been consistent with all season is pointing to himself to improve, whether the team was 11-0 or 11-3. He has taken his share of heat from outside the team walls, but he doesn’t shy away from admitting some of it is deserved.

“I don’t blame them,” said Roethlisberger. “When you play like poo, you should get talked about like that. I need to play better. If I’m not giving them a reason to talk good, then I’m giving them a reason to talk badly. That’s all on me. I need to play better.

“When you’re not winning, truthfully, at the end of the day, that’s my determining factor of if I played well or not. Did I win the football game? Because that’s all that matters to me. Am I not completing enough passes? Am I missing the right play call? There’s a myriad of issues, in my opinion, that aren’t helping us win the game. It can be something different all the time. I just have to play well enough to help us win a football game because, at the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.”

Roethlisberger said on Wednesday the players gathered for a meeting, mainly just offensive players, just to talk and ‘express where we are and what we need to do moving forward.’ He stressed it wasn’t a panic meeting after losing the last three games, but […]