(Photo by Fredrick Breedon/Getty Images)
NBC Sports writer Peter King was on the "Rich Eisen Show" yesterday and talked about the Steelers' Super Bowl chances being that they are 6-0 and the only remaining undefeated team in the league.
King knew that he wanted to cover the Steelers-Titans game for his weekly MMQB column and wanted to interview Ben Roethlisberger after the game but the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback wasn't in the mood to talk. Roethlisberger was 32 of 49 (65.3%) for 268 yards, two touchdowns, three interceptions and had a quarterback rating of 67.4 against Tennessee.
"I really wanted to talk to Ben Roethlisberger after the game, and I didn't know whether I was going to or not," King told Eisen. "But after the game, I was told, 'Hey, listen he's a little bit ticked off right now even though they won, so we'll try to get you someone else.' And I ended up getting (T.J.) Watt."
Roethlisberger wasn't the only Steelers' player who was upset after the game that they almost blew a 20-point lead against the Titans. T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward were also disappointed in the defense by giving up 21 points in the second half.
“There was too much splash,” Watt said. “We have goals so high for ourselves because we know what we can do. We feel like we can be a truly special defense. That’s why no one’s really satisfied after today. We need to do a lot better job, especially in the second half. It starts with the run. Even though we did a good job in the first half, you’ve got to roll it over into the second half.”
Heyward had a similar response to Watt's. Of course, they would rather be 6-0 than 5-1, but they know they have to be better moving forward.
“We’re 6-0. We won the game," Heyward said. "Nothing’s guaranteed. It’s a good win, but there’s a lot we’ve got to improve on going forward. We were able to answer the challenge in some cases, but we’ve got bigger challenges ahead going forward.
“There’s a lot of meat on that bone as Coach (Tomlin) likes to say. I’m fine saying that. I believe in the guys that we’ve got. I’m confident that we can do more. I look forward to answering the call next week.”
King has been in the business for a long time and took no offense to Roethlisberger not wanting to talk to him, as he understands that for any player it's totally their choice.
"I applaud Roethlisberger for being ticked off," King said. "You know because his throw that was intercepted in the end zone with 2:40 left to go gave the Titans that last chance and if (Stephen) Gostkowski hits it, who knows what happens in overtime."
Even though the Steelers currently hold a 6-0 record, it's certainly good to see some of the players this upset about the performance against the Titans even in a winning effort. I don't think you can say the same about some of the Steelers' teams in recent years.