{"id":790875,"date":"2026-03-04T06:54:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:54:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/790875\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T06:54:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T06:54:16","slug":"ben-roethlisberger-reacts-to-pittsburghs-poor-report-card-defends-art-rooney-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/790875\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Roethlisberger Reacts To Pittsburgh’s Poor Report Card, Defends Art Rooney II"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though Ben Roethlisberger doesn\u2019t recall ever filling out a report card that graded the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, he shared his thoughts on the team\u2019s latest negative marks<\/a> from the 2025 season. In the latest edition leaked to the media last week, the Steelers finished 32nd overall and received poor grades in nearly every category. Roethlisberger shared his theory on why.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s a big thing,\u201d Roethlisberger said on his Footbahlin podcast with co-host Spencer Te\u2019o.<\/a> \u201cIf you come from a different team or a different facility, and then you come here, you maybe realize. I remember guys leaving Pittsburgh that had only been in Pittsburgh. And then hearing from them being like, holy cow, this weight room is a lot bigger than what we have. Or the locker room\u2019s a lot bigger. Or we fly on a different plane.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh has consistently turned over its roster and brought in waves of new talent. Last year, the Steelers ranked sixth in roster turnover<\/a> among teams that did not hire a new head coach and\/or general manager. Outsiders coming from bigger and better facilities have experiences that homegrown guys don\u2019t. Those who know only what Pittsburgh provides are less likely to grade harshly than those who have other teams to compare it to.<\/p>\n

In fact, RB Najee Harris had a similar reaction<\/a> to what Roethlisberger spoke of. Exiting Pittsburgh for the Los Angeles Chargers last year, Harris marveled at the Chargers\u2019 facility. In fairness, Harris already had Alabama\u2019s digs as a reference point, but the contrast in how he viewed the Steelers and Chargers\u2019 offerings couldn\u2019t have been clearer.<\/p>\n

In the 2025 report card, Pittsburgh ranked last in several categories. Home field conditions, locker room, treatment of facilities, and team travel all received F-grades. The Steelers have never been highly favored in these results, but finished last for the first time ever. The team\u2019s only A-grades were for coaches who have departed: Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith.<\/p>\n

A different era and culture might also have an impact on Pittsburgh\u2019s dreadful marks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even remember when I was playing if people [were] complaining about things,\u201d Roethlisberger said. \u201cMaybe times have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roethlisberger offered a defense of owner Art Rooney II, who has received another wave of criticism and negative PR.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a family business. It\u2019s been family from Day One, and it\u2019s still family. And they treat it like family. You see the owners every day. You see Mr. Rooney every day. You see him at every game. He\u2019s in the locker room after every game, shaking hands. There\u2019s something to be said about that, too. How the ownership makes you feel as a human beyond a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roethlisberger contrasted that with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, whose focus is often set on building the latest and greatest while focusing on business ventures outside of football. Jones is in the oil industry and has even dabbled in acting.<\/a> Despite best efforts, Roethlisberger\u2019s comments won\u2019t persuade many.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s any good news for the Steelers\u2019 bad report card, there\u2019s no clear correlation between a good grade and a good football team. The Miami Dolphins have \u201cwon\u201d the report card three years running. That didn\u2019t save head coach Mike McDaniel or general manager Chris Grier\u2019s jobs.<\/p>\n

Still, Steelers\u2019 players clearly aren\u2019t happy with what they\u2019re being provided. In that regard, Pittsburgh sits at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the NFL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Though Ben Roethlisberger doesn\u2019t recall ever filling out a report card that graded the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise, he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790876,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4393,6594,7,2883,6,57,691],"class_list":{"0":"post-790875","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-art-rooney-ii","9":"tag-ben-roethlisberger","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-jerry-jones","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","14":"tag-trending"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116169596621822538","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790875"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790875\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}