Ben Roethlisberger not buying the underdog tag - ‘We’re still the Pittsburgh Steelers’

If the bookmakers are to be believed, the Pittsburgh Steelers loss of Antonio Brown at the same time as the Cleveland Browns acquired Odell Beckham Jr. has made them significant underdogs in their division heading into 2019. And while that has been a popular narrative for many in the national media to run with this offseason, it would appear that at least one member of the Steelers organization has failed to get the memo.

When speaking to reporters on the first day of mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, Ben Roethlisberger left no doubt that he was not buying into the underdog label that teammate Joe Haden seemed willing to embrace.

“Well I’ve been here a long time and we’re still the Pittsburgh Steelers. We’re still going to go out and try to win every football game. It’s been a long time since we’ve been to the big one. But, you know, like I said, if everyone puts forth the effort that we all think we can and with the talent that we have in this room, we feel pretty confident we can be pretty good.”

The Steelers will need more of that fighting spirit if they are to be successful in 2019, but there is a lot to like about many of the new additions Pittsburgh has made this offseason. And while the national media and the bookmakers may already be counting them out this year, there appears to be a quiet understated confidence emanating from the locker room right now that bodes well for the season ahead.