From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

The Steelers will be without Antonio Brown on Monday when they take on the Houston Texans in a Christmas Day matchup, and Ben Roethlisberger knows it’s going to take more than one player to step in and fill the void.

“I will be honest, you can’t replace him with one man,” said Roethlisberger. “AB is not human. We will have multiple guys trying to fill that spot. We have guys that are excited, willing to try and fill those shoes. I think Justin (Hunter) is going to be one, Martavis (Bryant) will do some stuff, and JuJu (Smith-Schuster). Everyone really is going to have to step their game up, that includes me. I am going to have to be better.”

Roethlisberger said everyone stepped up big against the Patriots when Brown went down in the second quarter with a lower leg injury, and he is expecting more of the same this week.

“Guys stepped up and played different positions JuJu, Hey-Bey (Darrius Heyward-Bey), Eli (Rogers), Martavis,” said Roethlisberger. “I am really proud of the way those guys played.

“It’s tough. He is a special football player. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of smiles and laughs. We’ll just keep encouraging him to get back to us as soon as he can.”

While getting Brown rest is a key, there is still a lot at stake on Monday. A win, on Monday combined with a Jacksonville loss on Sunday, would give the Steelers a first-round playoff bye, something that can give everyone rest.

“It’s huge,” said Roethlisberger. “It always is for rest and it’s one less game you have to win in the playoffs.”

It’s going to be a challenge though. While the Texans might have a 4-10 record, they have a defense led by Jadeveon Clowney and Roethlisberger knows he is someone they have to be alert of all day.

“They are good,” said Roethlisberger. “Obviously when you’ve got Clowney running all over the field you are going to have to have eyes and understand where he is all of the time. He is a very, very special football player.”

And while looking out for Clowney is a key, Roethlisberger admits he doesn’t mind that he won’t see J.J. Watt on the field, and he said it with […]

…and several of his teammates!


The Steelers are tops in the NFL with eight players selected to the 2018 Pro Bowl.

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

An early Christmas gift came for Steelers’ players when they were selected to the 2018 Pro Bowl. Eight players, the most the team has had since 2005 when nine were selected and the most of any NFL team this year, were voted in.

Le’Veon Bell, Chris Boswell, Antonio Brown, David DeCastro, Maurkice Pouncey, Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Shazier and Alejandro Villanueva were all selected to the AFC squad in the annual game. All but Roethlisberger and Shazier were voted in as starters.

This is the 17th straight season the Steelers are sending multiple players to the Pro Bowl, and the 26th time in the last 29 seasons.

Ben Roethlisberger was selected to the Pro Bowl for the sixth time in his career. Roethlisberger has completed 340 passes for 4,025 yards so far this season, and has eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark for the sixth time in his career. He is averaging 287.5 yards per game and has thrown 26 touchdowns.

He is the AFC’s sixth leading passer with a 92.2 quarterback rating, but his 340 completions and 4,025 yards rank second in the conference.

“Ben, that’s my guy,” said Brown. “Ben’s our leader. Ben’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. He is so much fun to play with. He made some amazing throws. He makes them every day. He is a general, a warrior, a leader. I am glad I got to play with him for a lot of years.”

Roethlisberger was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Ravens in Week 14, when he led them to a 39-38 come-from-behind win. Roethlisberger completed 44 of 66 passes, both career highs and team records, for an incredible 506 yards. Roethlisberger threw for two touchdowns, and no interceptions, against a defense that was No. 1 in takeaways and ranked No. 1 in interceptions in the NFL going into the game.

Roethlisberger became the first player in NFL history to pass for at least 500 yards in three games, and his 506 passing yards is the 10th 400-yard or more game of his career, the fifth player in […]

Recap provided by 93.7 The Fan & CBS Pittsburgh:

It was the game of the year with quite possibly the most controversial call of the year as the Steelers fell to the Patriots 27-24 and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joined us for The #1 Cochran Ben Roethlisberger Show to break it all down.

Ben walked us through the end of the game and how it all unfolded.

“I’m looking to the sideline to coach like, ‘Are we taking this timeout? What are we doing?’ Which is very typical. Obviously the only person who can communicate to me is Todd, and so I’m sure he’s asking Coach Tomlin and everybody.”

All of that led to the controversial overturn of the Jesse James touchdown and Ben told us what he was thinking as the refs looked at the play.

“I was on the sideline on a knee just getting my breath, taking it all in, praying. I had turned around and asked one of the TV people if it was good and they just nodded ‘yes’ that it was good…and then out of nowhere Coach Todd was like ‘Hey Ben, this might not be good, lets get a play ready to go.’ So I started walking back down a little bit towards where they were congregating and that’s when the official came out and said. it that it wasn’t good.”

So was it a catch?

“I think Jesse caught that ball.”

Now none of this would had happened if it weren’t for the ridiculous catch rule the league uses and Ben shared with us his thoughts on the ruling.

“Honestly it makes less sense to me,” Ben said after thinking about the play more. “I felt like he caught it. He brought it into his body and then reached out and then yeah, when he hit the ground it came loose, but I felt like the reach is credit of the football move…it’s a touchdown.”

Now, what happened on that play after that led to the game clinching interception for the Patriots?

“I’m yelling ‘clock-clock’…the line knows when they hear ‘clock’ you snap it and you just protect the inside.”

So Ben painted the picture for us of what happens once the rest of the offense thinks he’s going to just spike the ball. But what happens once you decide to run a […]

“Guys stepped up and did some really great things, and I’m proud of that.” — Ben.

Ben completed 22 of 30 for 281 yards with two touchdowns and the one interception, the batted ball in the endzone to end the game, while Le’Veon Bell ran for 117 yards and a TD, as well as adding another 48 yards receiving.

The Steelers had to play most of the game without Antonio Brown, who left the field with an injured calf early in the game.


Worst part of the game:

They had a winning touchdown stolen away after Ben connected with Jesse James with 28 seconds left. But the call was overturned on review, when official Tony Corrente saying the ball did not survive the completion of the catch.

“What a roller coaster, to have that play and feel like you scored, and you’re excited for it and then and you have to come back in because it’s not a touchdown. It’s a game of emotion…We’re not going to second guess anyone. I threw the pick at the end of the game to lose it. I’m not into moral victories. We just lost a game and it doesn’t sit well, but the season is not over.” — Ben.

Best part of the game (because we want to end it with the best part):

Ryan Shazier watching from a suite. When he was shown on the scoreboard waving a Terrible Towel, the crowd went wild!! #SHALIEVE


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