Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin dismissed the idea that this week’s game against the Jaguars was a trap game because there are no walkovers in the NFL and the Steelers “are not a Big 10 team playing a MAC opponent this week.”
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played his college ball in the MAC and said on Wednesday, via Will Graves of the Associated Press, that he would fire back at the head coach when he finds out “what conference William & Mary is in.”
While Roethlisberger may not have liked the mention of his collegiate conference, but he doesn’t disagree with Tomlin’s overall point. Roethlisberger said the Steelers “are not worried about anything other than this week” and noted the history between the two teams.
“The last 10 games against them hasn’t been good at all,” Roethlisberger said, via the team’s website. “Extra motivation or whatever you want to call it. We are not taking these guys lightly at all. They have had our number. I know we won the last one barely. I know it’s a different team. You have to understand this game, this group, these two teams, it’s complete focus.”
The Steelers squeaked past the Jaguars in 2018, but lost to them in the 2017 regular season and the playoffs after that season. The Jaguars are 6-5 against the Steelers since Roethlisberger entered the league and evening that mark will leave the Steelers six wins shy of an undefeated regular season.