It's been a few months since we've heard from former Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Rashard Mendenhall. If you have a good memory, you may remember Mendenhall making outrageous claims about not actually fumbling the football during Super Bowl XLV. Now the outspoken Mendenhall is coming for Steelers legend, Ben Roethlisberger.
Pittsburgh Steelers running back, Rashard Mendenhall fumbles during Super Bowl XLV. | Photo credit: New York Times
Now if you don't remember Mendenhall's previous comments, I will give you a refresher:
I never fumbled that ball… #SBXLV
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) June 19, 2022
My coaches would feel like assholes to say that I did, I never did.
I was SEPARATED from the ball, 4 yards into the backfield.
That’s the RB equivalent of a strip-sack.
There’s NOTHING I could’ve done about it.
Respect my career.#Free34
The Steelers had trailed the Green Bay Packers 21-3 at halftime, but they had taken control of the game in the third quarter rallying to a 4-point deficit. The Packers had punted and Roethlisberger would take over from the Green Bay 41-yard line. On the first play of the drive, Mendenhall would carry it for 8 yards to set the Steelers up with a second and short as the third quarter ran out. But the next play would be a critical dagger in the Steelers comeback dreams.
As Mendenhall took a handoff from Roethlisberger, Packers' star linebacker, Clay Matthews would come untouched off the edge to meet Mendenhall in the hole. Matthews' helmet would strike the football, causing Mendenhall to fumble. Who knows what might have happened on that drive had Mendenhall not sucked all of the energy from the Steelers sideline.
But as you can see above in the tweet from Mendenhall's account, he doesn't believe he actually fumbled. That's pretty delusional in itself.
Now Mendenhall only played five seasons with the Steelers. He missed most of his rookie season after a collision with Baltimore Ravens standout middle linebacker, Ray Lewis, during Mendenhall's first start. He would have three solid seasons after that before eventually missing most of the 2012 season, his last in Pittsburgh. Not exactly what you want to see from a first round draft choice.
AP
With all of that said, this is a tweet that Mendenhall posted Saturday night:
Earned my stripes. @steelers #SB43 pic.twitter.com/za21etdmk8
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) January 21, 2023
The tweet garnered plenty of criticism from Steelers fans. Neil O'Donnell is the only other Steeler that fans blame directly for costing them a Super Bowl. Mendenhall isn't anywhere near that level. But the errors by Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XLV are usually glossed over because many believed the Steelers were going to be able to overcome his turnovers until the costly Mendenhall fumble.
Earned a fumble in the biggest moment.
— Bhristian 💺💨 (@TankForBedard) January 23, 2023
The backlash from fans on Mendenhall's post resulted in him posting a photo of his Super Bowl XLIII ring. That ring of course came from Mendenhall's rookie season when he had a whole 58 yards. He eventually landed on injured reserve and a spot on the sideline during that Super Bowl.
Continuing to be upset with people, Mendenhall then turned his attention to Roethlisberger and his leadership skills as a rebuttal:
"If @_BigBen7 is the “leader” you say he is, why hasn’t HE taken credit for the fall? ? What manager of a company goes to HIDE in the shadows when the results come in? We win it’s him, lose it’s me… or Tomlin huh.."
If @_BigBen7 is the “leader” you say he is, why hasn’t HE taken credit for the fall? 🤔 What manager of a company goes to HIDE in the shadows when the results come in? We win it’s him, lose it’s me… or Tomlin huh..
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) January 23, 2023
Any Given Sunday: Steamin Willie Beamin https://t.co/QZthSkexRF
What Mendenhall is saying isn't even remotely true. Following the loss to Green Bay, Roethlisberger took all of the blame:
"Hard fought. Obviously we're disappointed. For me, it's even more disappointing because I felt like I let a lot of people down," Roethlisberger said before continuing. "You know me, I hate to lose, especially when you feel like you're letting down guys that really stepped up in a big way, so it's really hard."
US PRESS WIRE
That doesn't sound like someone who ran from his errors. This isn't the first time that Mendenhall has made false accusations against Roethlisberger. Back in April of 2019, Mendenhall posted a tweet accusing Roethlisberger of being a racist. The comments stemmed from the ongoing public comments from Antonio Brown about Roethlisberger after Brown was traded from the team.
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