Ben Roethlisberger is one of the biggest quarterbacks in the NFL, which is why many were surprised when the Pittsburgh Steelers did not call a QB sneak for him on two key 4th-and-short situations in their loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. Or, better yet, why didn’t Roethlisberger just run the play anyway?
Apparently he is not allowed to.
In his weekly radio show on 93.7 The Fan Tuesday, Roethlisberger made it clear he had no say in Pittsburgh’s decision to pitch the ball to Le’Veon Bell once on fourth down and run a pass play the next time.
Ben Roethlisberger, on his radio show, swears of QB sneak (which he has not run in years), "I truly have never said I don’t want to run it." Says he does not have freedom to check to it, and that from 2yds, he's even asked Mike Tomlin to go empty, run QB draw. "He laughs at me"
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 16, 2018
Ben Roethlisberger says that the #Steelers running the QB sneak is the head coach's decision. Says he's asked to run it: "I have asked for it. I am fine w/ it. If they want to call it, I'm all for it."
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 16, 2018
Roethlisberger is 6-foot-5 and weighs 240 pounds, so it’s unclear why the Steelers don’t use his large frame to their advantage when only needing a yard or less on fourth down. After the game, Tomlin said he was “comfortable” with the play calls that didn’t work out. Big Ben seems a little less so.
Roethlisberger threw his coaches under the bus over a terrible play call earlier in the year, and he was close to doing it again when he revealed he does not have the authority to audible to a sneak play. Some will say that has a lot to do with his alleged rift with offensive coordinator Todd Haley, though Roethlisberger was quick to downplay that this week.
