The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t been a team that’s viewed as a Super Bowl threat year in and year out over the past handful of seasons, and for an organization with such a proud history, there’s fear that the organization is losing what made them great. During the latest episode of his Footbahlin podcast, former Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger addressed how to evolve and keep the “Steelers Way” going, and he said he doesn’t know how it will continue.
“A team has to know when they’re playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that they’re gonna be hurting. Same way when I knew I was playing Baltimore that I was gonna be hurting. We need to play Baltimore every week, that needs to be our mentality as the Pittsburgh Steelers, we’re gonna go just absolutely pound these people into the ground in a clean way. And you know what, we’re gonna be hurting, but you’re gonna be hurting worse. And I don’t know how that keeps on.”
Roethlisberger said that there are now so few homegrown Steelers who have stayed and experienced what it truly means to play for the organization that he’s not sure it can continue.
“I don’t know if that’s been lost from players now ’cause there’s so few guys left. Cam, T.J., even Minkah, he’s been there for awhile and he’s a leader, but he didn’t get drafted here, he got brought here.”
Roethlisberger quipped that the team could bring back the man who really made the Steelers into a dynasty, Mean Joe Greene, to teach the team the way of the organization.
“Bring Joe Greene back here for a little bit.”
One of Roethlisberger’s main points was that during his era, teams wouldn’t be able to run for over 100 yards on the Steelers, and if they did, then the leaders in the locker room would be pissed. The Steelers let the Baltimore Ravens run for 299 yards on them in their Wild Card Round defeat in the playoffs this year, and allowing that is something that wouldn’t have happened even 15 years ago. The Steelers were also accused of “tapping out” during that game by former Ravens DL Chris Canty.
Pittsburgh’s defense has always been their calling card, but they regressed in the second half of 2024, and the mentality of going out and being the more physical team just wasn’t really there. That’s not to say the Steelers Way is gone, but it will be if the team continues to lose early in the postseason and players who experienced and tasted that success leave or retire. For the Steelers, even Watt hasn’t experienced a playoff win, but he was around players like Roethlisberger, who helped him understand what it means to be a Steeler and don the Black and Gold.
But it’s not going to mean what it once did if the Steelers continue to find themselves being the less physical team and outplayed by the better teams in the league. If the Steelers don’t start winning soon, their organizational identity and what it means to be a Steeler could be lost. Mike Tomlin is still around, and Roethlisberger said he’s sure he’s still preaching the need to be physical and play a certain way. Still, the identity isn’t there if it’s not showing up on the field.
We’ll see if the Steelers can turn to their leaders to recapture the mantra of “you hit us, we hit you harder,” playing a physical brand of football, and winning. However, the organization isn’t trending up, with 2024 ending with yet another early playoff exit.
