Mike Tomlin and some of his players might have put on a happy face when it came to the Steelers' forced bye last weekend.
Ben Roethlisberger? Not so much.
The Steelers quarterback didn't mince any words when it came to having a bye week thrust upon his team because of an outbreak of positive COVID-19 tests last week with the Titans that caused the league to move the game to later in the season.
Some felt the Titans could be forced to forfeit that game instead, something that is now being discussed regarding Tennessee's game this Sunday against the Bills after the team had two more positive tests on Wednesday. That brings Tennessee's total number of players who have tested positive in the past week and a half to 10, which along with players previously on the Reserve/COVID List and front office staff gives the franchise 19 total people affected by this current outbreak.
"I don’t think they will consider forfeiting our game, and of course, we got the short end of the stick," Roethlisberger said Wednesday.
The Steelers were initially scheduled to have their bye in Week 8, while the Titans' bye week was in Week 7. Now, because their meeting has been rescheduled, the Steelers' will play their Week 7 opponent, the Ravens, in Week 8 and travel to Tennessee in Week 8. It will give them three consecutive road games -- they play the Cowboys in Week 9 -- and, of course, won't have a bye the remainder of the season.
Roethlisberger, 38, was coming off missing most of last season and is working his way back from surgery to repair three torn flexor tendons in his elbow. Because there were no preseason games due to the pandemic, he felt he was getting back into the swing of things after having played just six quarters of football since the end of the 2018 season.
He hopes the week off didn't slow his progress.
"Well, the league already tried to slow it down, so I guess I’m going to start back over from scratch and hope this week I didn’t take too many steps backward," Roethlisberger said. "Just try and see how it goes this week, I guess."
The Steelers (3-0) host the Eagles (1-2-1) at Heinz Field Sunday as they return to the field. And they'll have 13 games in a row with which to get back into a rhythm.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell had a conference call with representatives from all 32 teams Monday and released a sternly worded memo to the league later in the day that both reminded teams that they must remain diligent in terms of pandemic procedures and laid out some potential possibilities for recourse from the league if they do not. Those included fines -- several teams have already been fined -- the loss of draft picks and, finally, forfeits.
But Steelers NFLPA player rep Cam Heyward said that while the league made it through September without any large outbreaks, it was not realistic to expect that to continue all season.
"The thing we have to realize is that we’re not shut off from the world," Heyward said. "As a country and the world, we’re still dealing with this pandemic. To think we weren’t going to have any positive tests is ludicrous."
That being said, he trusts that the league and players association will do what's in everyone's best interests moving forward.
That could include adding a Week 18 to the schedule to make up for further postponements or having teams go into working bubbles.
"We’re trying to wear masks. We’re trying to socially distance. You’re trying to adhere to the protocols," Heyward said. "I can only preach it the young guys and older guys as well, when you leave this facility, that has a lasting effect on our team. Everybody has got to do their job. I don’t know how it transpired in Tennessee or these other places, but there are going to be more positives. It’s our job to minimize the effects on a team.
"If one guy gets it or two guys get it, we’re able to adjust to it. But when it spreads to your coaching staff and the entire team, it’s really hard to deal with the effects of that."
That's why Heyward, unlike Roethlisberger, isn't bitter about the process that took place last week, even though it cost the Steelers their bye week and will now force them to play seven of their final 11 games on the road after playing their next two at home.
"It was just a whirlwind. You come in early in the week focused on your opponent," Heyward said. "That’s the selfish part of me. I’ve got to be more flexible in adjusting to this. A lot of things happened on the fly and we’re just trying to adapt to the situation. Things are going to change every minute now. We’re just trying to adjust. I know the NFL and NFLPA are going to do right by the players and coaches, but there’s only so much they can do. It’s going to take discipline from each player and each team to help accommodate that."
It wasn't all bad news and bitter shots at the NFL this week, however. He was glad to see the Steelers will be permitted to have 5,500 fans at the game against the Eagles.
It will afford the families of players the opportunity to come to games, as well.
"Just to have some out there will be fun. And a lot of our family is back in," Roethlisberger said. "My kids were so excited when I told them they could go to the game. To me, that is going to make it worth it."
