There are not many names higher up on a list of the most legendary Pittsburgh Steelers players than Ben Roethlisberger. The 18-year veteran walked away from the NFL after the 2021 season, but gave the fan base in the Steel City nearly two decades of incredible memories. The most unfortunate part of the future Hall of Famer's career was probably the last five seasons or so of it. Not only did he lose nearly an entire year due to elbow surgery, but the team last won a playoff contest in 2016, a drought that is still ongoing in the present day.
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Retired Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger attempts to escape a Cincinnati Bengals defender during a regular season home game at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Head Coach Mike Tomlin has faced a lot of scrutiny in recent years because it has consistently seemed as if his teams are overmatched in the postseason. Fans are becoming accustomed to quick exits in the Wild Card Round. This is exactly how the career of Roethlisberger ended. The Steelers had to travel on the road to play the Kansas City Chiefs, and lost by a score of 42-21.
During a recent appearance on the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast, the retired signal-caller went into detail about how difficult it was to hang up his cleats that way. One thing that was very interesting about Roethlisberger's words was that he threw some serious blame in the direction of Tomlin's staff for not being ready to compete that week.
"We had an [offensive] line that was maybe a little underprepared," Roethlisberger stated. "Coaching staff was probably a little underprepared to have us ready for stuff like that, so that was tough."
It's pretty shocking to hear that Roethlisberger thinks that the coaching staff and offensive line weren't prepared for the Chiefs that year. Fans now have some sort of validation for their beliefs that Tomlin hasn't been effective getting his teams ready to play in the postseason. If the starting quarterback and team captain acknowledges a lack of true preparation, that speaks significant volumes.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter / X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin roams the playing surface at then-Heinz Field while his team warms up prior to a 2021 regular season game in Pittsburgh, PA.
While it appears as if Tomlin may have a lifetime contract with the Steelers, the team is desperate to win a playoff game. It has been almost a decade, and as each season passes, a loyal fan base becomes even more disconnected from the organization. Roethlisberger expanded on the 2021 Wild Card Game versus the Chiefs, and admitted that Matt Canada's offense was not very dynamic.
"Offensively, we couldn't do much, for whatever reason. I don't know if we were overwhelmed going into it or what the deal was," Roethlisberger said. "I just remember that we struggled early to get going, and they just stayed on the field. They kept converting third downs and we couldn't."
It's always possible that when Roethlisberger mentioned a coaching staff being underprepared, he was thinking of Canada in his mind, or another offensive coach, but Tomlin is the leader of that group in the locker room. He would be the first one to tell you that if a group as a whole is underprepared for something, it would be his fault. The same sentiment rings true when it comes to not being ready to compete in a postseason matchup.
It's not like Pittsburgh had a real chance of going into Kansas City and winning that game, but it started off wonderfully when TJ Watt returned a fumble for a touchdown to start the contest. Unfortunately, that was one of the only highlights as the rest of the evening was an onslaught by Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes.
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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (left) and Head Coach Andy Reid talk about the field before Super Bowl LVIII.
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Tomlin isn't necessarily running out of time before he gets fired, but he is testing the patience of a lot of passionate football fans in the Steel City. The Chiefs' postseason game wasn't the only one in recent memory that Pittsburgh started out flat in. The argument can be made that Tomlin and co. were underprepared for several important January games in recent years. Now, Roethlisberger somewhat confirmed it, which is even more unsettling.
Do you think that the Steelers' coaching staff doesn't prepare well enough for playoff games? Let us know in the comments below!
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