Ben Roethlisberger is arguably the greatest quarterback in Pittsburgh Steelers history. He led the team to three Super Bowls and brought two championships to the city in 2005 and 2008. He is going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, though, he expressed regret that the Steelers had middling playoff success in the back half of his career following three Super Bowl runs in his first seven seasons.
Roethlisberger, who retired in January after 18 seasons in Pittsburgh, cited the attitudes of current NFL players as one reason for the January shortcomings.
“I feel like the game has changed. I feel like the people have changed in a sense,” Roethlisberger told the Post-Gazette’s Ron Cook. “Maybe it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other.
“I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL (name, image and likeness) stuff, which is unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too.”
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The Steelers have not had a losing season since 2003, the year before Roethlisberger was drafted. But they have not won a playoff game since the 2016 season and have just three playoff victories overall since they lost Super Bowl 45 to the Packers following the 2010 season. They had plenty of high-profile drama with players like Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell in the 2010s.
With Roethlisberger now retired, it’s a new era for the Steelers, who brought in Mitch Trubisky and drafted Pitt QB Kenny Pickett in the first round in April.
Contributing: Jace Evans
