“I’m proud to play with these guys. God has blessed me with an ability to throw a football and has blessed me to play in the greatest city, in Pittsburgh with the greatest fans and the greatest football team and players. And it has just been truly a blessing and I’m so thankful to Him for the opportunity that He’s given me.”

From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:

On a night that Ben Roethlisberger wanted nothing more than to deliver another win for Steelers Nation, and just weeks after saying that “all signs are pointing” to it being the final season of his career, he instead was talking about what the season – and the Steelers – meant to him after the 42-21 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round.

“Just a bunch of guys that fought for each other, that fought their butts off and just competed. It wasn’t always pretty, but there are a lot of games that we found a way. I’m so proud of this group of men and the way they fight for each other, for the black and gold, for our fans. It’s just been an honor to play with them.”

Roethlisberger has epitomized what it means to be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, is someone who understands the tradition of the organization, and hopes the one thing he has done is pass along that legacy to younger players when talking about the impact he has had on the franchise.

“I’ve been here a long time, and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Roethlisberger. “Like I said, God has blessed me. We joke about the Browns and going there (in the NFL Draft), but it was meant to be that I was going to wear black and gold. Draft day I had a black suit on with a gold tie.

“I’m just so thankful. I hope that that I’m able to pass the legacy of what it is to be a Steeler from Dan Rooney. We all miss him, anyone that knew him misses him. Hopefully I can pass some of that on to some of the guys and they can continue the tradition of what it means to be a Steeler and get passed down.

“Whenever you get a bunch of new guys, once […]

From Teresa Varley at Steelers.com:

Ben Roethlisberger knows this week nothing is a given.

He knows if you listen to the so-called experts, the Steelers wouldn’t even be playing this week in the Wild Card Round against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But they are in the postseason. They are preparing to take on the Chiefs. And they are going to be ready on Sunday night to get the job done, no matter what the ‘experts’ think.

“We probably aren’t supposed to be here. We’re probably not a very good football team. Out of 14 teams that are in, I think we’re probably at number 14. We’re double-digit underdogs in the playoffs. So, let’s just go play and have fun and see what happens. We’re probably 20-point underdogs and we’re going to the team that’s won the AFC the last two years. Arguably the best team in football. We don’t have a chance. So, let’s just go out and play and have fun.”

Roethlisberger is well aware of how close the Steelers came to not being in the postseason. He was like the rest of us, staying up late on Sunday night and sweating it out when the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers went into overtime, and then the game was decided on a last second field goal.

“I wish I would have went to bed instead of staying up and the stress of it, but what a crazy game, crazy ending. You go into the evening excited about getting in and then your hopes start to dwindle there for a little while, and then the last drive you really think they’re going to play for the tie. But there’s other plans out there.”

And those other plans have Roethlisberger and his teammates practicing today at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex preparing to take on the Chiefs, a team that defeated them in Week 16, 36-10, in a game where both teams were missing key components of the offense, with tight end Pat Freiermuth inactive with a concussion and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce inactive after not being able to be cleared to play with COVID.

Roethlisberger knows what the challenge is going to be like, but he is definitely looking for a better outcome this week.

“I hope so. I hope we don’t go in and get blown out by 20 or 30 points. I […]