Ben Roethlisberger made some crucial mistakes in the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs. He took full responsibility for those mistakes after the game.
Big Ben wants to apologize. To everybody.
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Seriously. If you were invested in the Steelers as they took on the Ravens in the playoffs on Saturday night, Ben Roethlisberger would like to apologize to you for the mistakes he made in what was eventually a 30-17 loss at the hands of Joe Flacco and the Ravens.
“Anytime you turn the ball over, it’s frustrating and that’s why I wanted to apologize to the fans, to my teammates, to the organization, the Rooneys, coaches, it’s frustrating. I wish I could apologize individually to everybody,” Roethlisberger said, as quoted on NFL.com. “Didn’t play well enough to win and guys look at me as the leader and as the quarterback to make plays and to do what it takes to win the football game and I don’t believe I did that today.”
That apology almost veers into the territory of rambling. Roethlisberger was clearly upset.
All told, Big Ben played an OK game, but the mistakes were crucial. He ended the night 31-of-45 for 334 yards passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. The turnovers proved to be costly, including a pick to end the game and end Pittsburgh’s season in the final minutes.
Part of the problem was the fact that Roethlisberger was under duress all night. The Ravens sacked him five times in this game and he was hurried on a number of throws. That game plan for Baltimore likely stemmed in part from the fact that Pittsburgh running back Le’Veon Bell was out of this game with a knee injury.
It might be that Bell’s injury loomed even more than people already expected it would. In a season in which Pittsburgh has made its name on the offensive side of the ball, it was clear that they did not have the same punch without Bell.
Roethlisberger has been on this stage before and he has seen both sides of the outcome. It is not surprising, then, that he pointed the finger at himself after the game. For Pittsburgh, this was a team loss at the hands of a Baltimore squad that proved to be better on both sides of the ball.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the Steelers, but Big Ben did what a franchise quarterback is supposed to do and shouldered that blame after the game.
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