The Pittsburgh Steelers are known as a team that hates to lose. Everyone has heard the statistics of the team never having a losing season since 2003, which led to the franchise drafting Ben Roethlisberger. He won two Super Bowls with three Super Bowl appearances. He was a consistent, dominant force in the NFL for almost two decades. From a recent interview, it sounds like Roethlisberger hated losing more than football games. He just won at any game he played, even if it had nothing to do with his profession.
In a recent interview with the Two Percent Podcast, Ramon Foster talked about Roethlisberger's mindset on everything and how it translated to the gridiron.
"[Have] you ever met somebody that whether you're playing basketball in a garbage can, ping pong, cards, throwing darts, that they just win? That was Ben [Roethlisberger]. That ability to win was huge. He led with a 'watch me play' type of mold, like those types of dudes. He wasn't real rah-rah, you know, how most quarterbacks would be? It ain't yelling at you or nothing like that. So, when you went out there and you battled with him and you saw him get his ribs hit, referees never really call it, I thought, roughing the passer on him because he's Big Ben. Knowing that you had to battle for him because he wasn't going to get those types of calls made you want to grind harder."
Whether the officials are on your side or not, you have to do everything you can to win. Roethlisberger would take all kinds of extra hard hits because it took all that extra work, just to bring him to the ground. That tough mentality didn't mean that the offensive line had an easier job; it meant the exact opposite. His lines had to grind more and work harder to make sure he didn't end up taking an extra shot to the body.
The Steelers already have a great rah-rah guy with Mike Tomlin, so they need someone that can lead by example for that balance. Roethlisberger's tough play and improvisational skills were the kind of attributes that the team needed to see. No play was ever truly a "dead play" to him; there was always a way to get something positive out of any situation that looked bad.
That kind of leadership and "endless grind" mentality led to Roethlisberger having 41 career fourth quarter comebacks, which is third in NFL history. The only other quarterbacks ahead of him are arguably the two greatest quarterbacks of all-time: Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. It takes a lot of leadership to routinely come back from any sort of deficit, and Roethlisberger's leadership helped his teams get those ugly wins.
Steelers Leadership After Roethlisberger's Retirement
The Steelers have become a significantly younger team since Roethlisberger's retirement, especially on the offensive
side of the football. Cameron Heyward has been the on-field vocal leader, with TJ Watt also earning a captaincy role for his "endless motor." Even with Heyward holding out for a new contract currently, the defense is fine with leadership.
The offense, however, has lacked that kind of leadership. Kenny Pickett was the only offensive captain for the Steelers in 2023, and he was traded away for being a disgruntled teammate after his starting job was in jeopardy. The Steelers are hopeful that Russell Wilson can be the leader that the organization desperately needs on the offensive side of the ball, but they still need a long-term captain -- whether it be at quarterback or any other position.
