The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the funky NFL schedule.
At one time, the NFL avoided Christmas games — and now, they can’t get enough of them, scheduling two this year despite the day falling on a Wednesday.
That is prompting some oddities in the NFL schedule, with the Steelers one of four teams who played last Saturday and are now playing on Wednesday. What ever happened to “any given Sunday?”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) walks off the field at the end of an NFL wild-card playoff football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. The Chiefs won 42-21. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)
Anyway, the rest is equivalent to that of teams who play on Thursday following a Sunday game, but with the Saturday contest, it all comes out to three games in 11 days for the Steelers, and former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t happy about it.
“It’s miserable. It’s a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it’s all about money and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out, because it’s not fair for the players,” Roethlisberger said recently. “You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you’re going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days. I mean, there’s no time for your body to get healthy and rest.”
Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers delivers a pass over a roughing the passer penalty by Jeffery Simmons #98 of the Tennessee Titans in the fourth quarter of the game at Heinz Field on Dec. 19, 2021 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
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The comments echo Patrick Mahomes’ sentiment on the grueling schedule.
“It’s not a good feeling,” Mahomes told reporters a couple weeks ago. “You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But, at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it.”
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) looks toward the bench in the fourth quarter during a Week 12 NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. (Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK)
It will be the Chiefs and Steelers in a 1:00 p.m. showdown on Christmas.
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