Losses sting, no doubt, but on most occasions, they carry some positives to build upon. However, some losses sting so badly that even franchise legends cannot help but lose their cool at what is unfolding.
Advertisement
As it turned out, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ brutal 30-6 Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans was the second kind. And Ben Roethlisberger could not stomach what he was watching.
For much of the night, the Steelers’ defense kept the game alive. In fact, entering the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh trailed just 7-6, despite an offense that struggled to find rhythm the entire game. But everything changed in a matter of minutes, and it started with one disastrous play.
Early in the fourth quarter, Aaron Rodgers was hit from behind, stripped of the football. The veteran quarterback watched helplessly as Texans defensive lineman Sheldon Rankins scooped it up and ran it back for a touchdown. The play pushed Houston’s lead to double digits and sucked the remaining life out of Acrisure Stadium.
Watching that moment unfold on ManningCast, Roethlisberger’s initial reaction was denial. “No, he was down,” he said, hoping Rodgers’ knee or elbow had touched the turf. But as the replay played on, Peyton Manning could sense what was coming.
“That might be a touchdown… that might be a touchdown,” Peyton repeated, calmly narrating the inevitable. That commentary was apparently too much for Roethlisberger to handle.
“Be quiet, Peyton,” the Pittsburgh legend snapped, half-joking, half-exasperated. Big Ben was clearly exhausted by what he was seeing.
Once the touchdown was officially confirmed, Roethlisberger’s frustration spilled out fully. “There’s nothing better than big boy touchdowns,” he admitted, before adding, “But I don’t want that to be a big boy touchdown… No way.”
As the replay showed Rodgers never actually going to the ground, Roethlisberger could only shake his head. “Oh my goodness,” he muttered. “Look how wide he was…”
“Peyton be quiet.”
Ben Roethlisberger was distraught after the Texans scoop ‘n score pic.twitter.com/i4wuMJDt8e
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 13, 2026
From that point on, the night went worse for Roethlisberger. The scoop-and-score extended the Texans’ lead and effectively ended the game. Houston went on to add a second defensive touchdown later in the quarter, turning what had been a tense, grind-it-out contest into a blowout. The Steelers finished with just six points while being outgained 408-175.
Pittsburgh never recovered from that passage of play, and neither did Roethlisberger’s mood. His visible discomfort mirrored the collective feeling of Steelers fans everywhere. They just witnessed yet another postseason unraveling, following a painfully familiar script under head coach Mike Tomlin.
The Steelers have a lot of soul-searching to do this offseason because if Tomlin and Rodgers decide to leave, that will be two massive holes to fill in the Steel City.
