Big Ben: I’m still one of the best in the world

PITTSBURGH – NFL teams have a 24-hour rule, during which times players can dwell on a loss or celebrate a win before moving on to the next game.
To do otherwise would leave players wallowing in despair or revelling in success for too long to begin preparations for the next game.
Thus, when the 35-year-old Ben Roethlisberger showed up for work Monday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he saw no signs of the quarterback who had thrown a career-high five interceptions the previous day during a 30-9 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that dropped the Steelers’ record to 3-2.
“The bottom line is, I’ve known Ben for 11 years, and what he says in the moments after a five-interception performance probably isn’t reflective of who he is and how he feels,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “He came in here (Monday) and looked like a guy who’s ready to gunsling and get at it. I take those comments with a grain of salt.
“Last year, he talked about retirement (after a playoff loss) and you guys ran to the moon and back with that. And here he is.”
But what is he? Is he the quarterback who has led the Steelers to three Super Bowls, winning two, or the one who has more interceptions than touchdown passes this season with a passer rating of only 75.8?
Roethlisberger thinks he knows.
“You wake up Monday morning and you realize, ‘Man, I’m still one of the best in the world to do what I do,'” Roethlisberger said during his weekly call to KDKA-FM. “I’m gonna have that confidence. I’m gonna have that when I go out there Wednesday to practice and Sunday when we go to Kansas City.
“I have that belief, that I’m one of the best that’s ever done it, the best that’s ever played this position. You have to have that confidence, and that’s what I’m gonna have.”
It was a far different perspective than the one Roethlisberger had following the game Sunday, when he somewhat defiantly said, “Maybe I just don’t have it anymore.”
That statement has been taken by some to show that Roethlisberger had lost confidence in himself. Those people forget just after he said that, the Steelers quarterback also stated that nobody in the locker room had any doubt about their respective ability.
“Professional athletes shouldn’t have a doubt,” Roethlisberger said.
He reiterated that Tuesday, saying he went home Sunday night and began researching how many quarterbacks have thrown five interceptions in a game. “There’s Hall of Famers that have thrown five interceptions. I think that kind of perks you up a little bit,” Roethlisberger said. “I honestly don’t think this is the worst game I’ve ever played. Obviously, it’s the most interceptions but not the worst game, if that makes sense.
“I’m a gunfighter. I got in a gun fight and lost. But I’m going to come out as a cowboy next week and go right back at it.”
He’ll need to against Kansas City, the NFL’s only unbeaten team.
The Chiefs have the NFL’s second-rated offense and have turned the ball over just once, including no interceptions by quarterback Alex Smith.
Tomlin expects Roethlisberger to bounce back with a much better game because, after looking at the video of what happened against the Jaguars, he wasn’t as down on the quarterback’s performance as he was following the game.
“It could’ve been better, but it probably wasn’t as catastrophic as his statistics (indicate),” Tomlin said. “Things happen. Protection of the football is an 11-man job, just as the protection of our quarterback is an 11-man job. His first interception was a great play by Jalen Ramsey, but we had pressure up the middle and Ben couldn’t step into it. The next pick was a pick-six, and that ball was batted by a defensive lineman. None of that has to do with his judgment, but it does have to do with interceptions being thrown.”
Former Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes held a press conference at the UPMC-Rooney Sports Complex Tuesday to announce his retirement. Holmes, a first-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2006, spent four seasons in Pittsburgh before being traded to the New York Jets. He has not played in the NFL since 2014 with Chicago. … The Chiefs opened a 3-point favorites and the line already has moved up to 5½.