The Pittsburgh Steelers may be under the radar for the 2020 season, but that doesn't mean Ben Roethlisberger isn't looking forward to the 2020 season.
The 38-year-old quarterback had a lost season in 2019 after he suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 after undergoing surgery on his injured elbow. While the Steelers ended up finishing with a respectable 8-8 record under the likes of Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges, Pittsburgh clearly missed their franchise quarterback as they missed the postseason. It was the second consecutive season the Steelers missed the playoffs.
Although Roethlisberger will return with a clean bill of health for his 17th season in 2020, the Steelers are no longer the darlings of the AFC conference. That would be due to the fact that teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens — led by young stud quarterbacks in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson — are considered the championship favorites moving forward.
Roethlisberger — who has won two Super Bowls and has made three total appearances in the big game — lamented that he doesn't mind the fact that Pittsburgh is being “overlooked.”
Via Brooke Pryor of ESPN:
“We do have a great defense, and I’m excited about that group,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN.com. “That was one of the big reasons I was excited to come back was to play with a group like that. They let you play more free as a quarterback. I’m excited about that part of it and, obviously, our linemen and all of our skill guys we have. It’s OK. We can be overlooked. It’s the offseason, and no one knows what the season is going to hold or entail. We are going to go out there and give it everything we have to try and win a football game.”
The Steelers play in the same division as the AFC's best regular season team last year — the Ravens — with the reigning MVP in Lamar Jackson. Roethlisberger is also 38 years old, coming off of a major injury and the Steelers haven't made the postseason since the 2017 season — which feels like forever ago. It's not exactly a surprise that they're being overlooked.
With that being said, Pittsburgh has still been one of the NFL's most successful franchises over the past 16 years since Roethlisberger was drafted. Furthermore, they still feature a top-five defensive unit and offensive skill position players (James Conner and Juju Smith-Schuster) who are more than capable of producing next season.
Don't “overlook” Roethlisberger and the Steelers too much heading into the 2020 season.
Follow Us
Subscribe