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Ben Roethlisberger responds to the Steelers being ‘underdogs’ in 2019

By Tommy Jaggi

PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 09: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up prior to the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 09: Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers warms up prior to the preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on August 9, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are already being called underdogs heading into the 2019 season. Here is why Ben Roethlisberger disagrees.

Though there has been a Super Bowl drought in Pittsburgh over the past decade, the Steelers are no stranger to winning. However, despite all the success their franchise has experienced, there are some who are already calling them ‘underdogs’ in 2019.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN recently caught up with Ben Roethlisberger in the locker room. Here is a tweet from Fowler that captured some of what Ben had to say about the Steelers in 2019:

In the middle of the locker room question and answer session, a reporter refereed to remarks made from Joe Haden saying that ‘he felt like the Steelers were underdogs’ for the first time.  Then he asked Roethlisberger if he felt like that too.

Ben’s response? ‘We’re still the Pittsburgh Steelers.’

It was hard to ignore all the moves that the Cleveland Browns made this offseason. They acquired an array of talented players including Odell Beckham, Olivier Vernon, Sheldon Richardson, and Kareem Hunt this over the past few months. That doesn’t even include Greedy Williams and the draft picks they stocked up on.

While Cleveland is making headlines, Pittsburgh (by some accounts) sits as underdogs. But should they be?

Though Pittsburgh missed the playoffs with a record of 9-6-1 last season, they have four straight seasons with 10 or more wins, and are averaging nearly 11 wins per season over the past five years. Going back even further, the Steelers have had 10 or more wins in 6 of the last 9 years, and 12 of the last 18 seasons.

Though seasons change, and the Steelers don’t have the same exact roster from year to year, they are still a highly touted franchise that knows how to get the job done.

There is always the chance the Browns, Ravens, or even the Bengals could elevate their level of play above Pittsburgh’s this year, but like Ben Roethlisberger said, ‘we’re still the Pittsburgh Steelers’. As such, he expects high quality football from Pittsburgh again in 2019.

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Fans have grown accustomed to seeing the Steelers do so well that we forget a 9-6-1 season is still a very good season for most teams out there. However, Pittsburgh’s owners, coaches, and players hold themselves to a very high stander. There is no reason to believe that they won’t be competitive yet again in the 2019 season.

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