In hindsight, a Russell Wilson slide would’ve avoided a Russell Wilson fumble contributing to a Pittsburgh Steelers loss. Trying to score at the end of a long scramble, Wilson attempted to cut to the left but was tackled by Baltimore Ravens’ safety Ar’Darius Washington. Wilson lost control of the football on the way down, and the Ravens recovered. While many fans were clamoring for Wilson to get down, former QB Ben Roethlisberger wasn’t one of them.
Sharing his thoughts on the play on the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger said Wilson shouldn’t think about giving himself up if that situation arises again.
“I feel like if he would’ve slid and we would’ve went back and watched it, the fans would’ve been like, why’d he slide?” Roethlisberger told co-host Spencer Te’o. “Why didn’t he try to make a play? You’ve got a guy that’s, I don’t care if he’s 35, 36, 37, how old Russ is. Russ is an athlete. When you watch that end zone view, and you see him running, there’s one guy coming from the center of the field. There’s no reason that Russ shouldn’t beat that guy.’
So, let’s look at it from the end zone and aerial views.
Wilson has plenty of green grass, but this view shows how early he cut back to the inside, nine yards away from the defender. Perhaps a later cutback would’ve increased the odds of breaking the tackle, but the defender was able to change his ankle and tackle through Wilson, which was a hard hit that caused Wilson to lose control.
Roethlisberger agreed with Te’o that the worst part of Wilson’s decision was taking a hard hit—not only to his hip but also to his hand as he reached into the hornet’s nest that became a pile, attempting to recover the ball. But he stands by the decision to go for gold.
“I don’t think he should have slid. I think I would’ve been mad if I would’ve watched him slide and then saw the sky view and him sliding. No, go get in the end zone.”
It’s a similar answer to OC Arthur Smith, who told reporters Monday he didn’t offer Wilson coaching points after the play.
In most parallel universes, Roethlisberger believes Wilson wouldn’t have fumbled. And in the same scenario, a slight adjustment breaks the tackle.
“A hundred times, Russ fumbling is, like, less than 1 percent. Maybe I’d even put him getting just tackled at less than 5 percent. Because I think Russ makes that guy miss 95 percent of the time.”
Seeing the All-22 view, it’s hard to justify that take. Perhaps a decade ago, Wilson could’ve. Roethlisberger said he would’ve run the diminutive Washington over, suggesting Wilson could’ve used a spin move on him. That seems like an even worse idea.
But Roethlisberger’s career was defined by never giving up, be it in the pocket or scrambling in the open field. Football is a competitive sport, and quarterbacks are among its most competitive people, making Wilson’s choice unsurprising despite the negative outcome.
