Ben Roethlisberger threw three interceptions and was responsible for five of the six turnovers committed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in their season-opening tie against the Cleveland Browns.

The veteran quarterback’s poor performance came after he played sparingly in the preseason – as has been the custom in recent years.

Roethlisberger started the third preseason game and logged 26 snaps. He completed 11 of 18 attempts for 114 yards and a touchdown. That was his only preseason activity.

But Roethlisberger said rust was not a factor against the Browns.

“I don’t think so,” Roethlisberger said Tuesday on his 93.7 FM weekly radio segment.

All three interceptions came in the first half, when he had a 35.1 passer rating. On the first interception, Roethlisberger threw into double coverage for Antonio Brown, and a third defender, rookie corner Denzel Ward, jumped in front of Brown for the pick.

“I think the first interception was me getting a little anxious,” Roethlisberger said. “The guy made a great play. That one may be feel-of-the-game stuff compared to (lack of) practice.”

Roethlisberger’s second interception was on a deep pass to Brown. Roethlisberger’s throw went one direction, broke broke the other way.

“It was a play we really hadn’t practiced, but we wanted to take a shot,” Roethlisberger said. “That has nothing to do with preseason reps.”

The third interception was a pass that deflected off tight end Jesse James fingers and was picked off by Ward.

“More playing time doesn’t affect those things,” Roethlisberger said.

Two days after the game, Roethlisberger was still trying to process the 21-21 tie.

“It’s crazy to think about,” he said. “You heard the adage win, lose or draw, and you don’t think about that draw too often.”

Roethlisberger also said the quarterback sneak called in the fourth quarter – the first by Roethlisberger in three seasons – was not a jab at former offensive coordinator Todd Haley, who didn’t like having the quarterback run those short-yardage plays.

“It was called on the sideline,” he said. “They called the play, there was no discussing it. We talked about it all week in practice. They gave us a specific look.”

read more


https://triblive.com/sports/steelers...kluster-opener