PITTSBURGH _ When last seen leaving Heinz Field late Sunday afternoon, Ben Roethlisberger was carrying his beaming, giggling daughter, Baylee, 3, on his shoulders. It was clear she still loved him. Steelers football being what it is and so significant to so many, it's fairly safe to say she was the only one in Pittsburgh and around Steelers Nation who still loved him on a day when he threw a career-worst five interceptions in a 30-9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.
"He's not playing well," Mike Tomlin said of Roethlisberger, perhaps for the first time in their 10-plus seasons together.
"Maybe I don't have it anymore," Roethlisberger said.
That was Roethlisberger feeling sorry for himself. Clearly, he isn't lacking confidence. He will come out firing in Kansas City Sunday _ the results be damned _ when the Steelers take on the Chiefs. "Professional athletes shouldn't have doubt," he said. "Doing this long enough, you understand not to panic and not to hit buttons, where it's like, 'Oh, man, what do I do? Change all this and that? Go see people?' You just come out on Wednesday and be ready to practice."
That sounded all well and good, but this loss stung Roethlisberger. Two of his five interceptions were returned for third-quarter touchdowns, one by linebacker Telvin Smith after the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, the other by safety Barry Church after the ball bounced off Antonio Brown's and cornerback Jalen Ramsey's hands. It brought back memories from long ago of Tommy Maddox. Those were two more touchdowns than the feeble Steelers offense scored. You can't win that way, not even at home.
"How many? Five interceptions today? Geez," guard David DeCastro said, unaware of the specifics of Roethlisberger's miserable day.
You can't blame DeCastro for that.
"There were too many to remember," Roethlisberger said.
This was Roethlisberger's worst day, but he has not had a good first five games. His offense, expected to be 30-points-a-game prolific, has been anything but. The Steelers scored two or fewer touchdowns in three of the first four games. That they were able to win three of those games covered a lot of the problems. Roethlisberger talked of doing enough to win. There is truth to that. There is no such thing as style points in the NFL. Roethlisberger also talked of being proud of not turning the ball over. There also was truth to that. He threw just two interceptions in the first four games.
But there was no win and no protecting the ball on this horrible day. There was just lousy play from everyone, starting with the quarterback.
"It wasn't all his fault today," Brown said of Roethlisberger. "He didn't go out there by himself."
That's true. There have been issues across the board with the offense all season. The line hasn't played especially well despite all five starters having rich, multiyear contracts. Le'Veon Bell has struggled to be effective despite being the NFL's highest-paid running back, his big day in Baltimore Oct. 1 aside. The receivers, other than Brown, haven't shown much chemistry with Roethlisberger. JuJu Smith-Schuster and Jesse James have had their moments but not enough. Martavis Bryant largely has been a disappointment.
"We haven't (lived up to expectations)," DeCastro said. "We're not playing very well on offense. We're not doing our job. I wish I could give you an answer why. We have the ability. That's the frustrating part."
It all starts with one man.
"I'm not playing well enough," Roethlisberger said.
The Steelers can take some comfort, I suppose, from waking up this morning in first place in the AFC North. They and the Ravens are 3-2, but they own the tiebreaker thanks to their win in Baltimore.
But the Steelers have greater plans than just winning their division. They believe they are a Super Bowl-contender and know their best chance is to get home-field advantage through the AFC playoffs. New England has tried to help, losing home games to Kansas City and Carolina. But the Steelers have refused to take advantage, losing to a really bad Chicago team Sept. 24 and to Jacksonville Sunday. Now, they have to go to Kansas City and win to have any real chance at that home-field edge.
Roethlisberger understands the situation.
"Improvement needs to come from me before next week," he said.
Brown predicted it will happen.
"He's a competitor. He's a general. He's going to come to work this week with a lot of intensity. He's going to hit the film room and make everyone around him escalate their level of play. He's going to bring the best out of all of us."
Forget the others.
For Roethlisberger, it all starts with bringing out the best of himself.
