Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Can't Believe Legendary Pete Carroll's Mistake: "Seattle Doesn't Want To Win"

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a decisive victory over the Seattle Seahawks with their New Year's Eve 30-23 win. While the two teams traded scores early in the game, the Steelers took control and refused to relinquish it. As the final minutes ticked off the clock, Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll ran a controversial play. Former Steelers Super Bowl-winning quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, immediately expressed the decision was so bad that it made him wonder if Carroll even wanted to win. 

Just before the two-minute warning, Seattle was able to drive down the field and kick a field goal which brought the game to within one score at 30-23. There was still the two-minute warning and the Seahawks had two timeouts. 

Instead of choosing to kick the ball deep and rely on their defense to be able to stop Pittsburgh, Carroll chose to kick an onside kick. The ball went nine yards and was recovered by Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson for no gain. Pittsburgh just had to run the clock out. 

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger Shocked By Pete Carroll's Mind-Blowing Decision 

Roethlisberger, who spent 18 seasons with the Steelers, helping them to win two Super Bowl titles, now co-hosts a podcast with his friend Spencer Te'o. The show, called Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger, frequently livestreams during games. During the Seahawks game, fans were able to catch the future Hall of Famer's reactions to everything that happened including that late-game decision by Carroll. 

After the field goal, Roethlisberger was speculating about how the Seahawks would respond. He felt confident that they would have their kicker boot the ball out of the back of the end zone. Carroll wouldn't want to give the Steelers any chance at returning it and if they return, the clock would have fallen below the two-minute warning. If they kicked it out of the end zone, then the Steelers would have to run a play before the two-minute warning. He said there was no point in attempting an onside kick. But they did. 

"They're showing onside? There's no way they onside this. They are showing it. No way," said Roethlisberger with disbelief. "I don't know why you would do that. That's mindboggling to me. Wow! Good for us. I know you only got two timeouts, but you got the two-minute warning. That's awful coaching."

He reiterated that if they had kicked it deep, then the Steelers would run one play and the clock would stop automatically, thus giving an extra timeout on top of the two they had. According to Roethlisberger, if they used their timeouts and managed to stop the Steelers, and let's face it, they struggled with tackling all day, they might hold Pittsburgh around the 30-40-yard line. This would give them a shot to get the ball back and hopefully get that touchdown they needed. 

Instead, they chose the onside kick, which according to the NFL, has about a 5.6% chance of success. Roethlisberger is absolutely dumbstruck, he just can't believe the gift the Seahawks gave them. 

"Seattle doesn't want to win. They don't want to win. Now even if the Steelers don't get any yards, they're going to kick it, they're going to punt it. That is one of the dumbest things I've seen in a long time. Unless I like don't understand football. Does anyone else hear what I'm saying? That was dumb. I know they don't believe in their defense, but what else are you gonna do? It's over. Shout out to Pete Carroll, thank you for being a sponsor of the show. Pete Carroll just blew it. I'm baffled by it, and Pete Carroll's a great coach."

The Steelers were able to once again beat the Seahawks when it mattered. While that game didn't hold the importance that Super Bowl XL did, it was a key to Pittsburgh making the postseason. 

In addition, it was a dominant win for our third-string quarterback Mason Rudolph, who did something that hasn't been done in literal decades. The last time the Steelers beat the Seahawks in Seattle, Cliff Stoudt was the quarterback and the year was 1983. 

While the Steelers are not coasting into the playoffs like they hoped, they have a real shot with a little help. The best part is if they make it to the postseason, it feels like the team has more confidence than they had all year. 

What did you think about Carroll's decision to onside-kick the ball? Tomlin announced that Rudolph will start against Baltimore over Kenny Pickett, do you think that is the right decision? Click to comment below. 

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