The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles 35-13 on Sunday. The Eagles defense played very well in the victory and sacked Kenny Pickett 6 times. The latest episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger was released on Monday night and the future Hall of Famer, along with his co-host Spencer T'eo, were observing the Halloween spirit in full costume. Ben “Dragon” Roethlisberger was in an empathetic mood when it came to playing the Eagles in Philadelphia.
Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger YouTube
“Early on, they got after Kenny,” Roethlisberger observed. “One of the early plays in the first series was a pretty gnarly sack where he got hit up top and luckily his feet were off the ground, because there were some people by his feet and that’s how injuries happen. It kind of turned into one of those days where they were just kind of getting after it.”
Karl Roser / PIttsburgh Steelers
Pickett took major shots throughout the game when Eagles rushers got home against the Pittsburgh rookie. They were clean hits, but in the flag-happy NFL roughing the passer environment, the punishing hits stood out as unusual. The Eagles did not do anything wrong, but the Steelers had opportunities to hit Jalen Hurts hard several times and they demonstrated restraint. This is not the first time the Eagles have punished a Steelers quarterback in front of their home crowd.
“I think it was 2008,” Roethlisberger begins. “We played in Philadelphia, I got sacked 8 or 9 times which is unheard of. Jesus, we lost the game obviously and I remember coming home on the plane and calling Brett Keisel once we landed and saying, 'I don’t want to go home, can I come talk to you.'”
14 years ago to the day, the Steelers and Roethlisberger visited Lincoln Financial Field on October 30th, 2008. The 2-1 Steelers met the 2-1 Eagles where Jim Johnson and the Philadelphia defense unleashed one of the most brutal beatings of a legendary quarterback the NFL has ever seen. Roethlisberger was sacked 8 times, but it seemed like a lot more. He lost two fumbles, and the Steelers lost a 15-6 slug fest.
“I remember going over to his house,” Roethlisberger continued. “We had a couple of beers and sitting down there and being like, 'I am so sore and beat up.' You know, we talked about the Tom Brady thing, him not wanting to be out there, that was me.”
Credit: Robin Rombach/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The loss ended up being a catalyst for the Steelers who went on to finish 12-4 and win the Super Bowl against the Arizona Cardinals later that season. However, it was almost the end of Roethlisberger’s career in just his fourth season in the NFL.
“I told him [Keisel] that I don’t even know if I want to play football anymore, I was so beat up. I mean you get hit a lot, that’s eight or nine sacks and that doesn’t even count all the times you get hit when you throw the ball away or throw a pass. Man, I don’t even want to play football after this game. It made me think of that earlier when I saw him [Pickett] getting hit so much.”
Roethlisberger did not retire after the beating the Philadelphia Eagles doled out, and he didn’t share how Brett Keisel talked him out of hanging up his cleats. Keisel is legendarily glib and maybe he just let his quarterback drink enough beer to let the feeling slide away. Sometimes the best thing to say when someone is down is nothing, just keep them company.
The Pittsburgh quarterback put himself back together in time to go out and take a beating against the Baltimore Ravens the following week and endured 3 more sacks, but led the black and gold to a win 23-20 and enjoyed a magnificent run to the Super Bowl where he won the game with a touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with under a minute remaining.
Kenny Pickett Press Conference | YouTube / Steelers
Pickett probably won’t finish off the 2022 NFL season in the Super Bowl like Roethlisberger did after the Eagles beat him up in 2008. The NFL and Pittsburgh were different 14 seasons ago and Roethlisberger leaned on a defensive teammate for comfort and guidance that he got. Pickett’s brutal sack by Javon Hargrave was posted on social media and his teammates, including his supposed number one receiver, liked the post.
Pickett is a tough kid, and the Steelers have the talent to rebound quickly, but the symptoms of a mutiny are brewing. Unless they start supporting each other immediately, the Steelers are going to start losing more than games. Teams with championship DNA come together in times of stress like the 2008 team did after the Eagles game. The question is in two weeks when they host New Orleans, how will this team react?
What do you think, Steeler Nation? Was it just the good old days when teammates supported each other, or is it time to root out the malcontents and start over? Please comment below or on my Twitter @thebubbasq.
