Ben Roethlisberger accepts blame for Steelers’ offensive struggles

Big Ben thinks that his play needs to be Big Better.

Speaking with the media on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the blame for the team’s Week 3 loss in overtime to the Baltimore Ravens and their overall offensive struggles to start the season.

“The quarterback needs to play better,” said Roethlisberger, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. “I didn’t play well enough to win. We lost the game because of me, because I didn’t play well enough. It’s not on anyone else. That’s how I felt, that’s what you’ve got to do is you’ve got to own it. And I’ll own it.

“If I play better in that game, I feel we win the game,” he continued. “If I play better in the first two weeks, then we’re going to score more points and have a productive offense and we don’t have to answer questions about why our offense isn’t where it is.”

Roethlisberger hasn’t actually been terrible in his age-35 season, completing 62.7 percent of his passes for five touchdowns to only one interception. But he has yet to reach 300 yards passing in any single game, and the usually stout Pittsburgh offense ranks just 22nd in the NFL in yards per game (per ESPN).

Granted, Roethlisberger and the Steelers had some other issues to deal with during Week 3. But they know that their lackluster offensive play isn’t going to cut it, even if they are 2-1 in what is shaping up to be a lousy AFC North.