Ben Roethlisberger makes damning accusation against Steelers regarding Cardinals TE Trey McBride

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a game they had to win against the Arizona Cardinals, 24-10, in Week 13. The team played poorly in all three phases of the game. The Steelers were embarrassed in Acrisure Stadium by a team that had not won a road game in more than a year. The result put the Steelers' playoff hopes into question. 

The Steelers compounded a poor performance on the field with an even worse performance in the locker room afterward with the press. Mason Cole failed to take accountability for his poor play, T.J. Watt complained about officiating and Jaylen Warren hinted at the real reason why the Steelers lost.

On Tuesday, Ben Roethlisberger and Spencer Te’o returned to YouTube with Episode 45 of "Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger." The duo was coming off a marathon simulcast on Sunday that was extended with two weather delays. It is refreshing to see Roethlisberger and Te’o do a recap episode on the same week as a simulcast and, hopefully, the beginning of a trend. Roethlisberger addressed Warren’s comments and the story that the Steelers took the Cardinals lightly.

“Did they overlook them? Did they take them lightly,” Roethlisberger asked. “It’s annoying as a player, no, we didn’t take them lightly. I don’t want to say this is playing down or taking someone for granted or taking it easy, but if you weren’t prepared for somebody in the sense, not the whole team, but like I think that tight end that got after them at the end of the first half when they went 99 yards — when that tight end, I think it was [Trey] McBride, they didn’t know who he was.”

Roethlisberger is astutely pointing out that the Steelers seemed lost that Trey McBride, one of the breakout players of the 2023 season, was the go-to target for Kyler Murray. The lack of a plan to slow down McBride was evident when he took over the game on the decisive scoring drive. The second-year player is among the leaders in receptions and yards at the tight end position.

The fact that Teryl Austin, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers defense didn’t prioritize him indicates how little attention to detail went into the game plan. Roethlisberger shared that it isn’t necessarily a conscious decision by a player or coach to take a team lightly. It is as simple as the intensity or lack thereof in your preparation.

“I didn’t know who he was,” Roethlisberger said of McBride. “If you could sit there and say we weren’t prepared for this guy, we weren’t prepared for that guy, then you could say that’s a form of overlooking somebody or not playing 'em that tough. If you are not prepared for somebody, you could lump that into the same category, maybe.”

Steelers' Warren Shockingly Admits Reason For Devastating Loss To Arizona