Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger on recent criticism about his play: 'I don't blame them'

Ben Roethlisberger has heard the criticism. He understands it. In fact, considering the way the 17-year veteran quarterback has played in recent weeks, he expects it from fans, commentators and former NFL players.

“Shoot, I don’t blame them,” Roethlisberger said Wednesday. “When you play like poo, you should get talked about like that. I need to play better. If I’m not giving them a reason to talk good. I’m giving them a reason to talk bad.”

The critics came out in full force after the Pittsburgh Steelers lost their third game in a row Monday night, a 27-17 decision to the two-win Cincinnati Bengals in a game that would have clinched the AFC North for the visitors with a victory at Paul Brown Stadium.

Roethlisberger presided over an offense that managed two first downs and 40 yards in the first half while falling behind 17-0. It took six series for the offense to get a first down, and Roethlisberger had just 19 yards passing at halftime.

The poor performance was the fifth game in a row Roethlisberger had a passer rating under 90, which is about the NFL average this season, and has led to speculation, at age 38, his right arm is shot and he no longer is capable of completing medium-range and deep passes.

Roethlisberger offered a different take on the definition of what “poo” means to him.

“When you’re not winning,” he said. “At the end of the day, that is my determining factor of whether I play well or not. Are we winning the football game because that’s all that matters to me. Am I not completing enough passes? Am I not getting us in the right play call?

“There are a myriad of issues, in my opinion, that aren’t helping us win the game. It can be different all the time, but I need to play well enough to win a football game.”

As he has all season, Roethlisberger has maintained his right elbow, which was surgically repaired 15 months ago, is not the issue. He also refuted a recent report his knees are the reason for his recent struggles.

“You’ll feel fatigue or that you can’t make the throw,” Roethlisberger said when asked when he will know whether his arm isn’t strong enough to keep playing. “I guess that is the best answer I can give you. You’ll feel it, and I don’t feel it yet, so I guess that’s a positive as well.”

The Steelers have two games remaining — against a pair of 10-4 teams — before they enter the postseason. That gives Roethlisberger a little bit of time to correct the deficiencies that have surfaced in the past month.

Consider in the first nine games of the season, Roethlisberger completed 67% of his passes with 22 touchdowns, four interceptions and a 103.0 passer rating. He also was averaging 6.8 yards per attempt.

In the past five games, Roethlisberger has slumped to a 63% completion percentage, eight touchdowns, six interceptions and a 75.5 passer rating. His average per attempt has dropped to 5.3 yards.

“We all need to perform better, and it starts with me,” Roethlisberger said. “I have to complete passes. … Once again, you’re asking questions that if I had an answer to it, we wouldn’t be having these issues.”

JuJu Smith-Schuster, the longest tenured wide receiver on the roster, isn’t doubting Roethlisberger’s ability to turn it around in the final two weeks of the season.

“I have played with Ben when he’s been really good, and I’ve played with Ben when he’s not had his best game,” Smith-Schuster said, “But at the end of the day, the thing with Ben is we’ve been in situations where we have come back and put points on the board and stuff like that. Everyone’s not perfect. There are days when I have bad days, and Ben picks me up or other guys on the team pick me up, and it just goes hand in hand.”

The game against the Bengals coincided with an ESPN report that Roethlisberger wants to return in 2021 when his contract ends. Roethlisberger mocked the report Wednesday and said he won’t make a determination on his future until after the season.

“I’ll just let media people tell me (when it’s time), I guess, since they seem to be coming up with stories out of nowhere,” he said. “It came from nobody in my camp or my family. It’s amazing where people get those stories to say those things. Truthfully, at the end of the season, I’ll do a lot of praying and talking to people I care about. I’ll make the decision when the time is right.”