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The Pittsburgh Steelers let a prime opportunity to get a leg up on the New England Patriots for the top overall spot in the AFC playoff picture slip after falling in disappointing fashion.
Much of the criticism is centered around Pittsburgh's questionable management of the final 30 seconds of the fourth quarter that led to Ben Roethlisberger throwing an untimely interception to seal his team's fate. Roethlisberger had to decide whether to spike it or attempt a throw to the end zone, ultimately going with the latter.
During his weekly appearance on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Big Ben took on the blame while voicing in hindsight that he should have spiked the ball instead. (h/t Shalise Manza Young of Shutdown Corner)
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“At that moment, the only thing I can do is give a receiver a quick hand signal to run a quick route and try and hold the ball long enough because, like I said, the line is not blocking in protection, they’re basically just lining up,” Roethlisberger said. “And in that moment as I’m thinking in my head ‘Do I spike it? Do I not?’ I went with, and I probably wish I would have listened to my gut now obviously in hindsight, I should have listened to that instead of listening to running a play and I just tried to make a play to Eli. I don’t regret it, I just wish I would had made a better throw. I’ll take the blame for the interception at the end of the game.”
It was a hectic situation centered around the overturned touchdown catch by tight end Jesse James on the play before. The pass that Roethlisberger threw Eli Rogers came on a jumbled up play with him being the only receiver to go down the field in any manner.
Given the magnitude of the situation, the safer route would have been to spike the ball and kick a field goal to force overtime. Ultimately, it was the high-risk, high-reward option that Roethlisberger decided to take, and it ended up backfiring.
