Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw shade at the Cleveland Browns once again. Speaking on his Footbahlin podcast, Roethlisberger called the game against the Browns in Week 6 the Steelers’ second bye.
“I said it’s our second bye in a row. I don’t foresee a big issue with the Browns,” Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers currently have a 34% chance to win the AFC North. They also have favorable matchups in their next two games after their bye week against the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. A 5-1 start seems very likely.
The Browns, who are off to a 1-3 start, benched veteran quarterback Joe Flacco in favor of rookie third-round pick Dillon Gabriel ahead of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
All signs point to Gabriel starting against the Steelers in Week 6 at Acrisure Stadium. The Browns defense has been impressive this season, but the offense been absolutely brutal. The Steelers should be big favorites at home against Cleveland, especially with a rookie quarterback under center.
The Steelers are 26-6 under Mike Tomlin against rookie QBs. The Browns have also not beat the Steelers in a regular season game in Pittsburgh since 2003.
Roethlisberger has never been one to shy away from taking a shot at the Browns. Despite being from Ohio, Roethlisberger was passed on by the Browns in the 2004 NFL Draft, and he carries that chip on his shoulder until this day.
At Pat McAfee’s Big Night AHT event at PPG Pains Arena in April, Roethlisberger trolled the Browns.
Pat McAfee – “I know where (Ben Roethlisberger) is from… Ohio”
Roethlisberger – “No, no, no… I’m a yinzer”
McAfee – “I’m sure you’re friends were Cleveland Browns fans”
Roethlisberger – I know I pretty much own that city.”
Roethlisberger went 26-3-1 (including postseason) in his career against the Browns. In Cleveland, he was 11-2-1. The Browns certainly made a massive mistake by not drafting the Findlay, Ohio native and they suffered the consequences for nearly two decades. And until this day, Roethlisberger loves to troll Cleveland about it.
Later during the show, McAfee asked Roethlisberger the simple math of adding one million together three times to make three million, and Roethlisberger said, “I’m not from Cleveland—I know how to do math. Three, million, dollars.”
Former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the Steelers were lucky to get Roethlisberger at 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft.
“It kind of hit at the right time because there was three Hall of Fame quarterbacks (in the 2024 NFL Draft) — Eli Manning and Philip Rivers and Ben,” Colbert said of the Steelers having a 6-10 season in 2003 during an appearance on The Lyons Share Podcast. “We were fortunate to get Ben at number 11 that year. We had no confidence that was going to happen. We were very, very fortunate that a Hall of Fame quarterback made it that far down the road.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: [Big Ben Throws Shade at Cleveland Browns:...
