Week 4: Ravens 26, Steelers 14
Ben after the game:
“I just didn’t make enough plays, point blank. I’ll take ownership of that game, squarely on me. I apologize to the fans, my teammates. I just wasn’t good enough.”
When asked whether he felt he wasn’t on the same page with Antonio Brown:
“I don’t think I’m on the same page with anybody right now. I’m not playing well enough. I need to play better. Today was just a bad day at the office. I promise I’ll be back to play better!”
Then this happened after the game:
“Two great players showing respect to each other, exchanging jerseys after the game.” — Chad Steele, Ravens Public Relations (who also took the photos).
“I’ve been a part of this rivalry for 16 years. That team has raised my level of play. Even rivals can show respect. The player I am is because of the Pittsburgh Steelers.” — Terrell Suggs.

Benjamin Jr. gets a lesson on respecting your opponent, whether it’s in a win or a loss!

Terrell Suggs posted a photo of his autographed Roethlisberger jersey on Instagram. The inscription from Ben reads:
“Sizzle, It’s an honor to compete against you! First ballot HOF!”
You can read all news & watch the interviews from the game at Steelers.com.
All the way from Anchorage, Alaska
…and it was worth every mile!
From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:
Sometimes you hear people say the ‘smile never left their face.’
On Friday, take my word, the smile never left Camden Elson’s face.
Elson, who is from Anchorage, Alaska, was a guest at Steelers practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The 17-year old suffered an anoxic brain injury when he was 11-years old, and his wish was to meet his favorite team, including his favorite players Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown.

“We are all Steelers fans,” said his mother Angela Elson. “Before his injury he played for the Pop Warner Steelers. He has been a fan since he was five or six years old. We added an addition to the house to accommodate things after his injury, and his room is all Steelers.”
Elson will also be at Heinz Field on Sunday night to see the Steelers take on the Ravens in a primetime matchup.
You can read more here.
Hope you bring ’em luck, Camden!!
Looking at that MNF game from the Bucs perspective
“The Bucs blitzed Roethlisberger, and he burned them.” — Thomas Bassinger.
More from Mr. Bassinger at the Tampa Bay Times:
The Bucs spent the first two weeks of the season rewriting the rules about how the Bucs play football. The new Bucs jump on teams early. They score 50-yard touchdowns. They protect the football like DeSean Jackson protects his gold chains.
There was bound to be some regression. But no one expected regression all the way back to 2017. At least that’s what it felt like we were watching Monday night. A mistake-filled first half. A double-digit deficit. A furious comeback. And, ultimately, a letdown. Just like the loss to the Cardinals last season. And the Bills. And the Falcons.
The second half was fun, but it was largely noise. The game already had been decided.
The Bucs had only one deep safety, meaning that Grimes was one-on-one with Brown. If Brown beats Grimes off the line of scrimmage, it’s an easy touchdown. The problem is that Grimes flat out missed the tackle. Missed tackles were an issue all night long for the Bucs. They missed a season-high 10.
There’s more to that play than Grimes’ missed tackle: The Bucs blitzed Roethlisberger, and he burned them. He got the ball to Brown so quickly that the extra rusher didn’t even faze him.
When we talk about blitzing, we often talk about the rewards and disregard the risk. The Bucs haven’t been a high-percentage blitz team in recent seasons, and for good reason. They’re not particularly effective at it, and they could use the help in coverage.
Almost every defensive coordinator will tell you he wouldn’t blitz if he didn’t feel like he had to. He’d prefer to generate pressure with his front four linemen alone.
Veteran quarterbacks will exploit the open windows that a blitz creates, as Roethlisberger did repeatedly Monday. He was nearly flawless against the blitz, completing 10 of 12 passes for 162 yards and a perfect 158.3 quarterback rating, according to Pro Football Focus. He threw all three of his touchdown passes while being blitzed.
On Roethlisberger’s first touchdown pass, he diagnosed that the Bucs were in man coverage, and as soon as he saw linebacker Lavonte David rush, he dropped a pass into the zone David had vacated.
On his third touchdown pass, the […]
Week 3: Steelers 30, Buccaneers 27
“What a crazy game! We will take a win any way we can get it. I am proud of the way the guys fought all the way until the end.” — Ben, on the field with Lisa Salter post-game.
From Bob Labriola, Steelers.com: Ben is Digest Player of the Week
Looking for their first win of the season, the Steelers figured to need a big night from their offense, which automatically means they were going to need a big night from their quarterback.
And Ben Roethlisberger delivered. He completed 30-of-38 for 353 yards, with three touchdowns, one interception, and a rating of 120.7. Roethlisberger also ran one quarterback sneak for 2 yards and another first down in the Steelers 30-27 win over Tampa Bay. Roethlisberger is the Steelers Digest Player of the Week.
You can read more from Mr. Labriola and check out all the highlights from the game, as well as Ben’s post-game interview here.
Ben Stats:
– With this win, Ben ties Dan Marino for the 4th most career games of at least 350 passing yards & 3 passing TD with 19.
– With this win, Coach Tomlin and Ben now have 107 regular-season wins together – tying Chuck Noll/Terry Bradshaw for most by a Steelers Head Coach-Quarterback, and for the third-most by a Head Coach-Quarterback tandem in NFL history.
– With this win, Ben has tied Joe Montana & Tom Brady for the third most career victories as a starting QB on Monday Night Football with 15.
Ben’s play was nothing new for Steeler Nation:

And check out those cleats!

“Bleeding GOLD & Black for MNF!” — Ben.
Tampa Bay area police department receives grant
Today, Ben announced the second grant award of the 2018 season from the Ben Roethlisberger Foundation at The Giving Back Fund.
The Foundation will be distributing a grant to the Bradenton Police Department, located south of Raymond James Stadium where the Steelers will play the Buccaneers tonight.
The Bradenton Police Department will use the grant funds to purchase one fully trained dual purpose K-9 in order to expand their ability to remove illegal narcotics from the area. Their current K-9 unit consists of three K-9s and this grant will allow them to add the only drug interdiction and search and rescue K-9 to their team.
During the 2018 NFL season, The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will be distributing 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. The Foundation will also distribute several grants to the Pittsburgh area. This summer Ben invited police and fire departments across the country to submit proposals detailing their needs.
“This generous grant award will be used to purchase a new, fully-trained K-9 trained specifically in detecting narcotics and other harmful substances. Over the last several years, the City of Bradenton has unfortunately fallen victim to an unprecedented proliferation of opioid overdoses and deaths. Within the last year alone, the Bradenton Police Department has responded to 82 drug overdoses and nine suspected drug-related deaths.” — Chief Melanie Bevan, Bradenton Police Department.
This marks the 12th season that Ben’s foundation has distributed grants to K-9 units. His mission is to support K-9 units of police and fire departments throughout the United States, with a particular emphasis on support for working dogs in Pittsburgh, PA.
The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation distributed more than $170,000 in grants to K-9 units around the country during the 2017 NFL season, including $82,000 in the Pittsburgh community. The Foundation has distributed in excess of $1.92 million since 2007.
“We’re very fortunate to be in the position that we are able to help these K-9 units. The work that is performed by the dogs and their handlers as well as the bond that is formed is incredible. We’re just thrilled to do our small part.” — Ben.
For more information about Ben’s Foundation or The Giving Back Fund, […]

