Ben Roethlisberger raises alarm bells on "Steelers Way" losing its mojo as franchise hits crossroads

After a 10-3 start to the season, the Pittsburgh Steelers capitulated in the final quarter of the regular season. They lost four straight to finish 10-7 before being blown out by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs. The franchise has now gone eight years without a postseason win.

Steelers icon Ben Roethlisberger, the last quarterback to lead the team to a playoff win, voiced his concern about the franchise's direction. He claimed they have lost the ability to attract top talents due to their mediocre run over the last eight seasons.

When host Spence Te'o asked the retired quarterback on the Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast if the "Steelers Way" was still viable, he said:

"You have to evolve. You have to evolve as a team. You can't just assume that everybody wants to come play for the Steelers anymore like they used to." [1:05:38]

He then flamed the front office, the coaching staff, and the players for letting the standards slip in Pittsburgh:

"People used to want to come play for Pittsburgh 'cause you had a chance every year to win a Super Bowl. I used to joke that we'd be up three or four points before the game even started. Right? Because there were people saying, 'Man we're about to get hit in the mouth by these guys.' I think you've lost a little bit of that." [From 1:05:42]

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Ben Roethlisberger urges Steelers to return to their roots

The two-time Super Bowl champion critiqued the team's play style and hinted that the team doesn't play as physically as they used to. He suggested the franchise should return to its roots and adopt the philosophy that made it one of the most dangerous teams in the league [1:07:40]:

"A team has to know when they're playing the Pittsburgh Steelers that they're going to be hurting... That needs to be our mentality as the Pittsburgh Steelers. We're going to absolutely pound these people into the ground in a clean way and you know what? We're gonna be hurting but you're gonna be hurting worse."

Ben Roethlisberger did not sound optimistic about the Steelers' short-term future. He added that few players on the roster, outside of a handful like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, and Minkah Fitzpatrick, excite him and project as leaders.

For eight years, Pittsburgh has been stuck in a perpetual cycle of squeaking into the playoffs before falling at the first hurdle. Roethlisberger believes they'll have to go back to move forward. But as he explained, it's easier said than done.