Ben Roethlisberger takes ill-timed shot at Patrick Mahomes

From one Steelers legend to a Chiefs one in the making, Ben Roethlisberger dissed a part of Patrick Mahomes' game that will have fans scratching their heads.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger retired two years ago and hasn't made many inflammatory remarks -- until now.

The Steelers legend talked about his team's impressive preseason this year before pivoting to a wholly unrelated topic: Patrick Mahomes. Specifically, Mahomes' "cheap touchdowns."

On a recent episode of a podcast, Roethlisberger apparently had a bone to pick about the ways the Chiefs quarterback has scored touchdowns in his career thus far.

"[Mahomes] gets more cheap touchdowns. The little flips, the little shovels, like, the fun stuff."

- Ben Roethlisberger

Any discerning football fan knows the playing styles of Roethlisberger and Mahomes could not be more different. The Steelers man relies on his large size and sturdy pocket presence; the Chiefs phenom uses his nimble legs to get out of heavy pressure and is something of a trick shot artist, as The Ringer would call it.

Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger disses Patrick Mahomes for his 'cheap touchdowns'

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has become known for creating some unorthodox plays for Mahomes in the last few years; one that sticks out is the "Ring Around The Rosie" play against the Raiders last year.

By contrast, Roethlisberger is more of a straight-shooting guy, as he would probably say. In his 18 years with Pittsburgh, Big Ben threw for over 64,000 yards and 418 touchdowns, a testament to his consistency and ability to command the Steelers' passing attack.

Roethlisberger has scored his share of rushing touchdowns over the years but clearly pales in athletic ability to Mahomes. Hearing the former Steelers quarterback diss Mahomes for his little "flips" and "shovels" sounds more like Big Ben is jealous Mahomes can do things that he never could.

Why bring up Mahomes' name out of the blue, anyway? The Steelers have a tough season ahead of them, and the last thing they're thinking about is an AFC quarterback not named Kenny Pickett.