Dec 1, 2018 6 min read

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was critical of wide receivers Antonio Brown and James Washington on his weekly radio show following the team’s 24-17 loss last Sunday against the Denver Broncos.

Some felt Roethlisberger had overstepped his boundaries by doing so.

Roethlisberger firmly disagreed with that later in the week, saying, “Being around for a long time, dealing with a lot of different players, you have to know how to motivate guys in different ways and I think that is part of being a leader, being a captain, just understanding players. Sometimes you just grab them off to the side and sometimes you have to be honest with them. I think I’ve earned the right to do that with as long as I’ve been here. I’ll be just as critical of myself.”

Roethlisberger’s right.

Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers called out his team’s young receivers in training camp this year, and while it made news, he wasn’t criticized for it. He was just being demanding.

The same goes for New England’s Tom Brady when he calls out teammates.

But Roethlisberger does it and it’s wrong? OK, got it.

For the record, Brown and Washington both said they had no issues with Roethlisberger doing what he did – at least not publicly. If they did privately, they could take it up with the quarterback. That’s all part of team dynamics.

Roethlisberger is right. He has earned the right to be critical of teammates – at least on the offense. If he started calling out defensive players for mistakes, that would be different.

But Roethlisberger didn’t do that. His teammates voted him a captain, the only captain of the team’s offense. And as the team’s quarterback, he’s earned the right to speak his mind, whether it be about the star receiver or a rookie trying to find his way.

• Winning streaks are made to be broken. So it was with the Steelers’ six-game streak that was snapped last week at Denver.

But now there are prognostications that the team is suddenly going to fall apart. There have been predictions of 8-7-1 and 9-6-1 despite the Steelers currently sitting at 7-3-1.

This is a team that has gone 15-2-1 in its last 18 road games, a team that is 20-3 since 2013 in regular season games played after Dec. 1. Both of those marks are exemplary.

We’re supposed to believe this team, which is as healthy overall as any team in the league, will somehow fall apart?

Sorry, I’m not buying it.

Any team can stub its toe in a given week in the NFL, no matter who the opponent might be. But this is a very good, resilient team.

• Remember when Nathaniel Hackett, son of former Pitt coach Paul Hackett, was being lauded in the playoffs last season for his offensive genius that had somehow turned Blake Bortles into a viable NFL quarterback?

Hackett was fired by the Jaguars last week. You know, because it was probably his call as offensive coordinator to sign Bortles to a three-year, $54-million contract extension in the offseason.

Talk about missing the mark.

• The same people saying the Steelers didn’t beat anybody good during their six-game winning streak should look at the Los Angeles Chargers as a good team.

Not that the Chargers aren’t good, but their recent six-game winning streak, which was stopped with a loss to Denver, included a pair of wins over the Oakland Raiders and one each over Arizona, Buffalo and Tennessee. There’s not a winning record among that group.

Only a win in Seattle could be classified as a good one.

The point is, this is the NFL. You play who’s on the schedule. And given that there are about eight teams that are actually good, you can’t play them every week.

• The Steelers are holding festivities this weekend to honor their Super Bowl-winning teams from 1978 and 2008. They have about 40 members from the 2008 team and 20 from 1978.

James Harrison will be one of the members of the 2008 team to attend. Given how things ended between him and the Steelers last season, this is a good first step in smoothing things over.

Troy Polamalu isn’t expected back. That’s a shame. Polamalu wanted to keep playing beyond the 2014 season. The Steelers felt he was done.

Polamalu has never been one to care about such things as a team being honored, but it would be good to see him back on the Heinz Field turf again. Here’s hoping he and the Steelers can patch up their differences at some point.

This week’s picks

Steelers minus 3 over Chargers: Roethlisberger is 22-4 in night games at Heinz Field and the Chargers are 1-14 all-time in Pittsburgh. The Chargers also are soft up the middle, so expect the Steelers to establish James Conner running between the tackles. The Chargers also have allowed only 16 touchdown passes, which is tied for third-fewest in the league, but they allowed nine in three games against the Chiefs, Rams and Seahawks. The other seven have been given up when they’ve played the offensively challenged teams on their schedule. The Steelers will score points in this one and should come away with a 31-27 win.

Falcons minus 1½ over Ravens: Rookie Lamar Jackson has looked good, leading the Ravens to a pair of victories in his two starts. Those wins came at home and against the defensively challenged Bengals and Raiders. The Falcons will score enough at home to force him to throw. That won’t go as well for Jackson as the Falcons will win, 27-20.

Browns plus 5½ over Texans: The Browns got their first road win since 2015 last week at Cincinnati and are actually playing like a real, live NFL team. The Texans have won eight games in a row after an 0-3 start but haven’t always been impressive despite a soft schedule. The Browns likely won’t win, but they’ll keep it close enough to cover in a 24-20 loss.

Broncos minus 5½ over Bengals: The Bengals have the league’s worst defense, allowing almost 440 yards per game. And Andy Dalton is done for the season. The wheels are completely off the wagon for coach Marvin Lewis and company. The Broncos will continue the Bengals’ downward spiral with a 27-13 victory.

Rams minus 10 over Lions: The Lions are banged up and can’t protect quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Rams, meanwhile, are coming off a bye. This one could get ugly. Look for the Rams to tuck this one away quickly in a 42-17 victory.