The Steelers are first in the AFC North and have had a strong season despite some in-house drama, but that won’t stop Ben Roethlisberger from calling out his teammates.
Pittsburgh holds a 7-3-1 record and is coming off a tough 24-17 loss to Denver Broncos on Sunday that saw the Steelers surrender the No. 2 seed in the AFC to the New England Patriots. Roethlisberger threw a late interception that ultimately sealed the win for Denver.
Although it was Roethlisberger’s throw that helped hand Pittsburgh its third loss of the season, the signal-caller criticized rookie wide receiver James Washington, who dropped a crucial pass he dove for rather than running through it. But Roethlisberger said it’s his way of motivating his teammates.
“Being around for a long time, being with a lot of different players, you have to know how to motivate guys in different ways,” he said, via ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “That’s part of being a leader and a captain — just understanding players. Sometimes you just grab them off to the side, sometimes you have to be honest with them. And so, I think I’ve earned the right to be able to do that, as long as I’ve been here. And I’ll be just as critical on myself in front of you guys as well.”
Aside from Washington, Roethlisberger also had tough assessments of Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner. But the Steelers will need to put that all behind them as they prepare for their Week 13 matchup against the Oakland Raiders.
