Former Steelers OL Ramon Foster Answers Which Defenses Always Beat Down Pittsburgh

Former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster now hosts a podcast on DK Pittsburgh Sports. The show, which is co-hosted by Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic, is called The Ramon Foster Show. One of the most popular segments of the podcast is called "Hey 'Mon" where fans get to write in and ask questions to Foster. On a recent episode, Foster was asked an absolutely fantastic question. 

"Hey 'Mon, what was the best defensive unit that you and the O-Line boys went up against and did you ever feel like you got bullied in a game?"

Foster played guard for the Steelers for 11 seasons starting in 2009 and helped to anchor one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. While the Steelers only went to one Super Bowl during Foster's time on the field (they lost to Green Bay), they were contenders quite often and teams were bringing their best defensive schemes to go up against Foster and company. 

The Toughest Defense For Ramon Foster And The Steelers' Offensive Line

It seems like answering a question like this would be easy, just check who they lost to. But if you consider the variables for a second, sometimes teams don't lose because the other team is so outstanding. Sometimes you lose because you don't do what you are supposed to do, make careless mistakes, or have crippling injuries to key players. Foster said that is a good, but tough question.

"I got one, maybe two in particular. It was the 2011 San Fran[cisco 49ers], that one was very interesting and I would also say the 2015 San Francisco [49ers] too, and I would probably even throw a Denver Broncos."

The Twilight Zone Converged On Candlestick Park

The first San Francisco 49ers game he is referring to was in December of 2011. The game was delayed because of a power outage at Candlestick Park. They must have tampered with Ben Roethlisberger's water bottle in the dark because he came out and threw four interceptions. The Niners walloped the Steelers 20-3. 

The second 49ers game was in September of 2015 in Pittsburgh. Perhaps Foster meant that game in the opposite way since the Steelers won 43-18. 

The Steelers Had Mile High Misery

As for the Denver Broncos, the Steelers lost two fairly close games to them in 2015 and 2018. Foster notes that those games, which were in Denver, are made difficult by the altitude, but also by just how good the Broncos' defense was at that time. 

The Game That Filled The Swear Jar

Kovacevic is shaking his head the whole time indicating that Foster is forgetting a game. He finally clues him in by saying, "The other side of our state," the Philadelphia Eagles. Foster jokes that didn't count for him because he didn't play in the game due to an injury.   

"You were part of that team, but consider yourself fortunate, not to say that you wouldn't have made things better, but Matt Feiler took your place, he's a good football player, so it wasn't like they took some significant step backward. That was rough," said Kovacevic.  

The game which Kovacevic is referring to was in late September 2016. The Eagles defense was a dominate force early that season and they completely hemmed up Roethlisberger and receiver Antonio Brown. That was Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz's rookie year and he threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns in the 34-3 trouncing. 

At that point, Wentz looked like he was going to be unstoppable and the Eagles were riding that wave of optimism. Head Coach Mike Tomlin had nothing good to say about that game when it was over. 

"We lost just about every aspect of that one. It was a poor performance by us, and I mean all of us. It starts with me. They outcoached us. They outplayed us."

However, that balloon quickly deflated. While both teams watched the Super Bowl from home, the Steelers did it in a slightly better position. The Eagles ended up in fourth place in the NFC East and missed the playoffs entirely. The Steelers were ultimately 11-5 and won the AFC North, losing to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. 

Foster said he learned early on that you won't win every game. He said sometimes you win, and most of the time the Steelers did. Every once in a while, you lose and sometimes you need that loss to help you grow.

"One thing I can always admit, when you're a pro, you gonna get got at some point."

Foster notes there is a difference between the back-and-forth kind of physicality that the Steelers have against the Baltimore Ravens. He calls that kind of a mutual back and forth - neither team totally dominates the other one. That is evidenced by the record of the rivalry. The teams have played each other 58 times (doesn't it feel like 958?) with the teams being closely matched. The Steelers lead the series, 33-25. 

"This is how it went, if they got us bad on one time, we was gonna get them bad on the other time," chuckles Foster.

From your perspective what was the worst defensive beating the Steelers have taken - meaning a loss where the opponent's defense just completely dominated our offense? Click to comment below!

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