Ben Roethlisberger says he’s playing ‘like poo’ for the Steelers, and he’s right

Ben Roethlisberger admitted he’s been bad for the Pittsburgh Steelers lately.

Ben Roethlisberger has a bad habit of deflecting blame when things go wrong for him and the Pittsburgh Steelers, but even he can’t deny how awful he’s been for the AFC North leaders over the last three weeks.

According to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Big Ben answered questions about people wondering if he was on the last leg of his career, given his poor performance over the Steelers’ three-game losing skid.

Roethlisberger said, “I don’t blame them. When you play like poo, you deserved to be talked about like that … that’s on me, I need to be better.”

Ben Roethlisberger said he needs to be better, and he’s absolutely right

Three weeks ago, the Steelers were sitting pretty with a perfect 11-0 record. While they had too many close scrapes to feel comfortable, especially with the one-loss Kansas City Chiefs breathing down their necks, they still looked like Super Bowl contenders.

But a rash of injuries at the linebacker position and the absence of James Conner finally caught up to Pittsburgh, and those problems were compounded by Big Ben seemingly hitting a wall. After starting off the year strong, Roethlisberger’s arm strength, timing and decision-making seemed to disappear in recent weeks.

Starting with a loss to the Washington Football team, Big Ben threw the ball a season-high 53 times despite only completing 62.3 percent of those passes. He only averaged 5.8 yards per throw that game, going for two scores and one interception, giving him a QBR of 64.7.

Things got even worse against a fellow AFC contender in the Buffalo Bills, as Roethlisberger only completed 21 of his 37 pass attempts (56.8 percent) for 187 yards. He threw two touchdowns but also had two picks, one of which was a pick-6 right before halftime that changed the momentum of the game. His 37.9 QBR reflected just how bad he was in that contest.

And yet, in a 27-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Big Ben regressed even further, completing just 20 of 38 pass attempts (52.6 percent) while throwing for one touchdown and one interception. His abysmal QBR of 15.1 was by far a season low, as were his 170 yards through the air. The eye test confirmed what the numbers showed, as Steelers fans were left gasping out loud nearly every time Roethlisberger threw a pass that was nearly picked off.

“Like poo,” doesn’t even cut it, and although Conner’s absence has played a role in Pittsburgh’s offensive struggles, Big Ben is going to have to be better for the Steelers to be anything more than a one-and-done in the NFL playoffs. For a guy that reportedly wants to return again next year, Pittsburgh fans should be concerned about what the future holds if this continues.