Ben Roethlisberger channeled his inner Aaron Rodgers Wednesday at the Rooney Complex.
Speaking with media members inside the Steelers' locker room, Roethlisberger responded to questions regarding the Steelers' current three-game losing streak, essentially telling everyone to r-e-l-a-x.
“We realize what’s at stake — no panic," Roethlisberger said. "We still control our destiny, but it’s not going to get any easier.”
He's right. The Steelers face the 9-4 Patriots Sunday, Dec. 16, at Heinz Field, a team that's bested them in five straight contests.
Then, there's the 11-2 Saints on the road and a season finale against the division-rival Bengals. While the Steelers currently hold a half-game edge over the Ravens in the AFC North standings, they'll likely need to win at least two of their last three to seal the deal.
Roethlisberger understands this point well but reminds everyone they can only take things one step at a time.
"It’s (the losing streak is) very frustrating," he said. "You want to win them all, but you understand that you can’t, so we can only control this week.”
The Patriots represent a particularly tricky puzzle for Roethlisberger and the Steelers. In week 15 last season, the Steelers fell 27-24 to the Patriots at home, a loss nobody — not the fans, not the media, not the players — has forgotten.
With 34 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Steelers faced a 1st & goal from the Patriots' 10-yard line. Roethlisberger fired a pass to tight end Jesse James, who dove across the goal line for the touchdown. However, upon review, it was determined James did not maintain possession while hitting the ground, and the call was reversed.
Roethlisberger threw a game-ending interception two plays later.
"You got to be able to put things behind you and move on," Roethlisberger said. "And then you go to training camp and they made a rule off of that game, so you hear about it a lot. Obviously, for this week it gets brought up, but for the most part, you have to move on.”
In moving on, Roethlisberger and the Steelers must face a Patriots defense that allows 259.5 yards per game through the air and another 113 per game on the ground, 23rd and 15th in the league, respectively.
While the numbers don't paint a picture of domination, Roethlisberger isn't taking his upcoming opponent lightly.
"I’ll tell you what, I haven’t seen that vulnerability yet, and I’ve been watching a lot of film," Roethlisberger said. "I think that they’re a good defense that gets after you. They make quarterbacks’ days frustrating because they’re bringing pressure, they’re throwing some really unique looks that we’ve been watching on film, so we got a long way to go before we start evaluating where they’re good and where they’re not.
"We know that they’re an all-around good football team.”
Sunday's contest boasts the feel of a must-win for the Steelers, but Roethlisberger says the Patriots are always a challenge, regardless of the stakes.
And he also acknowledges this challenge has traveled along a one-way street over the past several years.
“It’s always a big game," Roethlisberger said. "They’re the best for a reason and everybody wants to go after them. So they’re fun, they’re physical, they’re a very big challenges for us. I don’t think... it hasn’t been a big challenge for them. But for us it has been.”
