Humans are obviously prone to panic during moments of weakness, but when it comes to football in Pittsburgh, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger would like to nip that in the bud.
"I could do the Aaron Rodgers, 'Relax,' but I'm just going to say, it's halftime," Roethlisberger said Tuesday KDKA-FM in Pittsburgh, unearthing a bit utilized by the Packers quarterback from 2014. "We're at halftime, and we've had a lot of great second halves in my career and Pittsburgh Steelers' season history. ... It's not over yet, and I'm excited for the second half of the season."
Being a worried Steelers fan is kind of senseless at this point. The team has one of the NFL's best coaches, arguably the second-best running back, the best wide receiver and one of the five best quarterbacks. Roethlisberger still threw for more than 250 yards and a touchdown last week in a loss to the Ravens despite being weeks removed from knee surgery.
Pittsburgh goes as Roethlisberger does, and if he believes there is no reason to panic -- which also means he is not concerned about his knee bumming out again mid-season -- than it should be so.
Despite a three-game losing streak, the team is still tied atop the AFC North record-wise with Baltimore and has some winnable games left on the schedule. This weekend's matchup against the white-hot Dallas Cowboys will provide a litmus test for how well Roethlisberger is doing in his recovery and how well the Steelers can play against one of the NFL's best teams despite being a little banged up.
On Wednesday, Roethlisberger expanded on his comments, saying he hopes his younger Steelers teammates will have faith in the direction in the team."
"Follow me," Roethlisberger said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Guys who have been here (a while) that know (this is) no time -- no reason -- to panic."
