By Charles J. Richey
Following the humiliating loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday, many pundits and fans had their Super Bowl Championship hopes left in shambles! The Steelers were 8.5-point favorites according to Oddsshark. They were never even close! The run Defense gave up an abysmal 231 yards rushing on 37 carries in where the Jaguars averaged 6.24 yards a carry. By the time the smoke cleared, they dropped to 28th in that category!
What made it even worse was that future Hall of Fame and 2x Super Bowl Champion Quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger had doubt in his mind. “Maybe I don’t have it anymore,” Roethlisberger said following the humbling defeat. He completed 33 out of 55 passing attempts earning himself a 60% completion percentage. What made it sting even more is that this was the first game all year in where they lost the turnover battle. They are now minus one so far.
But is anybody really buying into that? The same athlete who was dubiously dubbed as the, “Drama Queen,” by Bart Scott? It all seems we’ve seen this movie before, the same Quarterback who takes a couple of sacks or gets chewed out in an AFC North Divisional matchup, is the same guy that will bite back with back-to-back six TD passes. Remember that guy? It’s time to start looking into the mirror and try and make one more Super Bowl Championship push before it's too late!
Is it fair to blame all of this on Ben? The same Quarterback who experienced his WR betraying him a year ago missing a whole season due to another weed violation, a running back who didn’t get his big-time money, a twisted misunderstood National Anthem protest, a beat-up Gatorade bucket, and now two pick six’s and no TD’s. ‘Earth to Big Ben,’ Steeler Nation is looking for a guy who once upon a time when signing his contract extension said, “This is where I want to be. It’s an incredibly fair deal for both sides, and we’re just excited to move forward and get some more Lombardi trophies in that room next year.”
Now, where are we? Oh, yeah, we remember now, our Quarterback is planning on abandoning our Super Bowl hopes because he needs more time to ponder the longevity of his career. It seems as if everybody is witnessing a Quarterback starting to diminish before our eyes and everybody is helplessly waiting for him to give it that one last gasp and play the role of hero for the last time.
‘If Peyton Manning can do it, then why can’t we?’ as many Steeler fans must be wondering. Well guess what, the Denver Broncos had a legitimate backup Quarterback in Brock Osweiler to fill the role of hero while a legend was also experiencing extreme pain from his neck and struggling mightily. Can the Steelers honestly say, ‘Oops sorry Ben, but until you can let us know when you’re all-in once again, we’re going to leave the keys to the Cadillac in Landry Jones’ hands.’ Guess again! You know why everybody should take a pill and relax? It’s because the Steelers love playing the role of underdog.
As Ben quoted once upon a time, his former Miami of Ohio Redhawks Head Coach who eventually died of brain cancer back in June of 2007, “Success is failure turned inside out; The silver tint of the clouds of doubt; And you never can tell how close you are, it may be near when it seems afar. So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit; It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.”
See everybody, once again, just take one big deep breath. It’s time to put once again another mediocre team loss in the rear view and deal with our whipping boys! The same whipping boys that are by the way, the number one seed in the AFC and currently undefeated in the form of the KC Chiefs. The same whipping boys who have went 27-4 in the last two years after snapping a three-game losing streak to the Steelers back in 2015. (Roethlisberger didn't play)
In the meantime, let’s continue to enjoy another Oscar performance by the one, the only, Big Ben! The same guy who questions if he can find a way to get a good hand dealt to him, or, it’s the same person that just eventually wants to roll over and play dead. Wouldn’t you, if you were him? Just saying! It’s simple, win big, and keep your head in the game, and maybe just maybe, he will still be known as Big Ben and not the Big No No!
Email: cjrichey83@gmail.com
Twitter: @ProdigyRichey
