‘High frustration’ for Ben Roethlisberger, looking for answers amid Steelers’ skid
Not long after a shocking 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night, Ben Roethlisberger was asked where his level of frustration is.
“High,” the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback said. “High frustration.”
Such is life after what was one of the worst games in the career of the 17-year veteran, future Hall of Fame quarterback.
And while an OK second half might make that assertion disputable, to contend that it was Roethlisberger’s worst first half might not be.
According to ESPN, a Ben-directed Steelers offense set new lows in team passing yards (7), yards per play (1.4), fewest first downs (two, tied) and most turnovers (three) for a first half with Roethlisberger in any of his 230 starts.
“I wasn’t good enough today,” Roethlisberger said.
Especially early. Through 13 pass attempts over the first 26 minutes of Monday’s game, Ben Roethlisberger was at minus-2 passing yards.
Also according to ESPN, Roethlisberger completed just one of his 12 pass attempts to receivers who were 10 or more yards down the field. At 8.3%, that is the worst completion percentage of any quarterback on Monday Night Football since at least 2005.
Though he is coming off elbow surgery and reportedly has been bothered by a knee injury, Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin said the quarterback’s recent play is not being adversely affected by any physical ailment.
“Like all of us,” Tomlin said, “we’ve got to be better.”
Said Roethlisberger: “I don’t feel 100%, but nobody does right now.”
Roethlisberger has thrown six interceptions and has a passer rating of less than 90.0 over each of his past five games, the latter three all losses after an 11-0 start to the season.
Teammates still are saying the right things in support of their quarterback. Defensive co-captains Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt each answered in the affirmative when asked after the game about their confidence in Roethlisberger, whose season yards per attempt has plummeted to 6.2. That’s 31st in the NFL.
“I’ve got all the confidence,” running back Benny Snell said, “100%, all-in, with Big Ben.”
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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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