Ben Roethlisberger Calls Out Steelers For "Mind-Blowing" Usage Of Wide Receiver

The Pittsburgh Steelers could have locked up the AFC North with a win over the then three-win Cleveland Browns. Instead, the Browns picked up their fourth victory on Sunday while the Steelers suffered their seventh loss of the season. That result set up a dramatic winner-take-all regular season finale in Week 18 against the Baltimore Ravens with the AFC North title now hanging in the balance after what many around the league viewed as a stunning upset.

In the 13-6 loss to Cleveland, the Steelers' offense, led by Aaron Rodgers, failed to score a touchdown, a reality that only magnified the frustration surrounding the performance. Pittsburgh’s two leading target-getters were Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Scotty Miller, an outcome that raised eyebrows given the weapons on the roster. Adam Thielen and Pat Freiermuth each finished with five targets as well, but in a game where points were at a premium, it was hard to ignore the absence of a heavier emphasis on Freiermuth in critical moments.

That imbalance is exactly what Steelers former great quarterback Ben Roethlisberger addressed on his Footbahlin podcast Tuesday evening. Roethlisberger made it clear that he found it absurd how many opportunities a receiver like Valdes-Scantling received in Week 17, especially in a low-scoring, grind-it-out divisional matchup. In his view, a player like Freiermuth should have been featured far more prominently, a critique that adds another layer of scrutiny to an offense now facing its most important game of the season.

"We have given you [Aaron Rodgers] the keys to the car," Roethlisberger said. "We are giving you the keys to lead this team. I think that's what they did and that's what they chose to do. It's no different than late in the game when all of a sudden Aaron is calling his own plays and leading them down the field. And then all of the sudden we are finally using the middle of the field and hitting Pat [Freiermuth] down the middle and doing stuff. The amount of times that MVS was targeted in this game was almost mind-blowing to me, in comparison to how many times [Kenneth] Gainwell, Pat, like that is just mind-blowing to me."

The Steelers picked up Valdes-Scantling for their practice squad in early November of the 2025 season. He was promoted to the active roster in December and has been targeted in big moments. 

Rodgers has been his teammate before and clearly has a lot of trust in him, but with the playoffs and division title in reach, Rodgers and Valdes-Scantling could not come through.

"It's not like he was targeted 16 times and caught 15 or 14 of them," Roethlisberger said. "He [Marquez Valdes-Scantling] was targeted a bunch and the completion percentage was not great."

Roethlisberger also made it clear that he would have liked to see Kenneth Gainwell receive more targets, as well as running back Jaylen Warren out of the backfield. Gainwell was targeted just four times, a surprisingly low number in a game where 37 targets were distributed. 

Steelers Could Have Targeted Receiving Backs Better In Week 17

Roethlisberger emphasized that in a matchup so critical for the division and playoff positioning, players like Gainwell and Warren needed to play a bigger role in the passing game. 

Warren, in particular, received zero targets, which Roethlisberger highlighted as a missed opportunity. The former Steelers quarterback believes maximizing the skills of all offensive weapons is crucial, especially in high-stakes games where your star wide receiver is not playing.

Do you agree with Roethlisberger? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below! Please feel free to share your Steelers takes with me on X @anthonyghalkias and follow me. I will respond!

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