After throwing five interceptions in an Oct. 2017 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ben Roethlisberger became increasingly annoyed at the line of postgame questioning from the media about his performance, giving answers about as short as the passes he has been throwing this season.
That’s when, in a moment some erroneously considered as serious self-reflection, Roethlisberger tossed in his comment: “Maybe I don’t have it anymore.” In reality, it was a cryptic utterance for the benefit of those in the national media whom Roethlisberger thought were unjustly criticizing him. He didn’t believe anything he had just said.
The words that came out after Sunday night’s loss in Buffalo were a little different.
“If I don’t play good enough football, then I need to hang it up,” he said.
To be sure, they were tinged with the frustration of back-to-back losses and the failure of the offense to score more than 19 points for the third game in a row. Yes, they were born of the disappointment of throwing two interceptions, one for a 51-yard touchdown return that dramatically changed the momentum of the game, and turning in his worst performance of the season.
But they didn’t have the same biting, cryptic, irritated tone as what he said three years ago. It wasn’t a comment meant for others. This was indeed a moment of self-reflection, even if it did come after a significant loss in which the Steelers lost control of the No. 1 seed in the AFC for the first time in eight weeks.
Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to think Roethlisberger really believes he needs to “hang it up.” Not after one poor game. Not after 12 games of being the player to drive an offense that has no running game. Did he look like a guy who needs to hang it up after throwing a 19-yard touchdown in the second quarter to James Washington? Or completing 8 of 9 passes for 78 yards on the second touchdown drive that ended with a 3-yard scoring strike to JuJu Smith-Schuster and a two-point conversion pass to tight end Eric Ebron?
Maybe Roethlisberger wouldn’t think he needs to “hang it up” if the defense didn’t let Bills receiver Stefon Diggs get so wide open in their secondary, especially in the second half when he caught seven of his 10 passes for 97 of his 130 yards. After all, it’s not like Diggs was just activated from the practice squad. Did they need to be notified he leads the league in receptions (100)?
Roethlisberger followed his hang-it-up comment by saying, “I still feel like I can do enough things to help this team win football games. I’m going to do everything I can to get us back on track.”
There are three games remaining in the regular season. There is at least one playoff game, maybe more, depending if the offense can somehow rediscover what was working earlier in the season in the final three weeks.
Do not believe Roethlisberger seriously thinks he has to hang it up. The one thing he does know is whatever happens from here on out will depend solely on how well he plays.
The offense cannot continue to stress a defense that has been robbed of its identity because of injuries to significant players. And it cannot continue to do so with a short-game passing attack that is either more conservative than George Will or simply being protective of Roethlisberger’s surgically repaired elbow.
Injury bug keeps biting
The injuries are continuing to mount for the Steelers, and this time it's the offensive line.
Both guard Matt Feiler and his top backup, rookie Kevin Dotson, will likely miss the remainder of the regular season after each sustained an injury to their pectoral muscle against the Bills. Feiler was placed on injured reserve Monday evening.
It is the third time this season the Steelers lost an offensive lineman to that type of injury. Guard Stefan Wisniewski sustained a pectoral muscle injury that didn’t require surgery but never healed in enough time to return to the lineup before he was released.
In most cases, pectoral muscle injuries are enough to cause players to miss the rest of the season. That’s what happened to defensive end Cam Heyward in 2016 and Stephon Tuitt in 2019.
Curiously, the Steelers announced that Feiler and Dotson each left the game with a shoulder injury and would not return. It wasn’t until after the game that coach Mike Tomlin said each sustained a pectoral muscle injury.
Unnecessary drama
The Steelers need to put a stop to JuJu Smith-Schuster dancing on the midfield logo of the opposing team and putting it on social media.
He did it in Dallas and he did it again before the game at Bills Stadium.
Several Bills players said they saw Smith-Schuster’s post on TikTok — NBC cameras even caught him dancing and showed it on their broadcast — and the disrespect inspired them against the Steelers.
While that is highly unlikely — you think the Bills would have said that if they lost? — it nonetheless could eventually cause an altercation at some point that the Steelers would be better to avoid. That almost happened in Dallas when he tried to run to midfield following a touchdown reception and had to be restrained by James Conner to avoid retaliation by several Cowboys players.
Smith-Schuster’s pregame logo dancing is shameless self-promotion, done to provide content for his social media accounts. Save that for the prom dates and high school student sections. Don’t put the Steelers in a potentially compromising position.
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac.
First Published: December 14, 2020, 8:04 p.m.
