Steelers Great Maurkice Pouncey Put Ben Roethlisberger In An Uncomfortable Situation During A Preseason Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a ton of legends play along their offensive line over the years, one of which being the fan-favorite Maurkice Pouncey. Pouncey earned the love of the fan base by protecting his teammates, and being a chippy and gritty lineman. He was a mainstay in Pittsburgh, as he was the team's starting center for 11 seasons. He was the defender of Steelers quarterbacks, risking a fine to protect Ben Roethlisberger (and Mason Rudolph) on multiple occasions. 

Pouncey and Roethlisberger had a great relationship, as most quarterbacks and centers do. They were especially close, and it's safe to say they'd do anything for one another. If a defender looked at Roethlisberger the wrong way, Pouncey would get in his face. Despite all this, Pouncey did unintentionally mess with Roethlisberger during a preseason game. Beau Allen, former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman, occasionally co-hosts the Green Light podcast. On the most recent episode he recounted a memory from playing Pouncey and Roethlisberger in the preseason.

"You know how it is the third preseason game, it's like a dress rehearsal for a game for the starters. We played in Pittsburgh, I was in for the entire series. They had a 16 play drive and it was hot, you know that third preseason game is the point in camp where everyone is pretty f**ked up. But, 16 play drive, they're in the red zone, Pouncey getting ready to snap the ball. He's calling out the mike point, throws up on the ball, and snaps it to Big Ben who throws an incomplete pass because it was slimy."

Roethlisberger sometimes wore two gloves during games in colder weather. Unfortunately, this was not one of those games. This game took place in the middle of August in boiling conditions, which is probably the worst time to puke on a football that is about to get snapped to your quarterback. Throwing up is something that happens a lot in the league, especially in the preseason when guys are still getting their conditioning up to speed ahead of the regular season.

Pouncey led what should be considered a Hall Of Fame career. He was named an All-Pro five times and was voted into the Pro Bowl on nine occasions. He was the best center in the NFL during the 2010s, which is represented by him being selected to the All-Decade Team. Even the best players have moments where the hot weather can get to them, which is exactly what happened for Pouncey back in 2014.

It doesn't seem as though Roethlisberger or Pouncey have addressed this hiccup publicly, and it seems like it went unnoticed for the most part. The worst part is the Steelers lost the preseason game, and maybe if the ball was slimy on that pass attempt Roethlisberger could have connected with a receiver for six.

Steelers Still Trying To Replace Pouncey

Pouncey officially retired from football after the 2020 season, in which the Steelers started 11-0 but wound up losing in the Wild Card Round to the Cleveland Browns. Since then, the Steelers have had trouble at the center position and across the entire offensive line. Things are finally starting to come together, and Pittsburgh may have a solution at center with Zach Frazier whom they selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Before Frazier, there have been other attempts to replace Pouncey. The worst being Kendrick Green, and then after that Mason Cole. Green was so bad at center there was an attempt to make him a fullback. He was the center for Roethlisberger in his last year in 2021, which he has since roasted the organization for. Hopefully Frazier proves he is the future at the position for the organization, because the fanbase probably can't take any more failures like Green or Cole.

What do you think about the story from Allen? Let us know in the comments below!

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