Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey sat on the bench alone as the rest of the team walked back to the locker room following a 48-37 loss to the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card playoff round on Sunday.
The weight of the loss seemed especially heavy for the two vets, which raised questions about their future in Pittsburgh.
Roethlisberger, who had yet to even remove his helmet, apologized to Pouncey as he approached.
STEELERS’ JUJU SMITH-SCHUSTER STANDS BY ‘THE BROWNS IS THE BROWNS’ COMMENT AFTER WILD-CARD LOSS
“I’m sorry, brother,” Roethlisberger said to his teammate of 10 years. “You’re the only reason I wanted to do this man. Oh, I feel worse for you than me. I hate it, man.”
Roethlisberger has a year left in his contract but couldn’t speak with certainty after the game about what will happen in the offseason.
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“It’s going to start between me and God,” he said. “Lot of praying. And a lot of talking with my family. I still have a year left on my contract. I hope the Steelers want me back if that’s the way we go.”
Big Ben’s playoff record fell to 13-9, and after the Steelers lost five of their final six games after initially being undefeated, it remains unclear if head coach Mike Tomlin will shake things up.
“We didn’t do enough,” Tomlin said after the game. “We didn’t position them in enough good circumstances. We didn’t make enough plays, particularly in the critical moments. We were a group that died on the vine.”
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As for Pouncey, there’s no official word but reports late on Monday indicated that he plans to retire after 11 seasons with the Steelers.
