Ben Roethlisberger may not have gotten the memo, but his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers just lost to the best team in the AFC North.
The division-leading Cleveland Browns got the best of Pittsburgh at Huntington Bank Field, as has been the norm when the Steelers visit Cleveland.
The Ohio native admittedly enjoyed plenty of success against the Browns and all division rivals during his heyday. Naturally, Roethlisberger still feels like he has bragging rights over several teams, and taking shots at them might be his best chance at staying relevant.
That's why, instead of calling out his own team for getting knocked off by Todd Monken and company, the borderline Hall of Famer tried to crack a funny joke about how he had never lost to the Browns.
Maybe he's suffering from amnesia?
Ben Roethlisberger: “What’s it like losing to Cleveland? I don’t know…” 😆 (Via @_BigBen7) #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/miQGCKgtxB
— Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) October 6, 2026
Browns fans don't need to remind Ben Roethlisberger how his final playoff run ended
Science has shown that people can block traumatic events from their memory. Maybe that's why Roethlisberger conveniently forgot about that one time everyone saw him pouting on the bench after Baker Mayfield and the Browns ended his season in the playoffs.
He may have forgotten, but the internet never forgets. It didn't take long before everyone reminded Roethlisberger just how sad and whiny he was after throwing for 501 yards, four touchdowns, and four interceptions in that loss.
Notably, that wasn't the only baffling comment he made in the latest edition of his podcast. Instead of giving the Browns their flowers for beating his former team, he claimed that he wasn't ready to call anyone a contender entering Week 5:
"Well, we're going to see [the Browns] in a couple weeks, right? So, we'll see what that looks like. Let's see what they do. I don't even know who they play this week. Like, I don't know what their schedule looks like, but let's see," he said. "I don't want to call anybody. I can't. It's hard to call many teams a contender right now, right?"
Roethlisberger was never the most articulate guy, and he's made some baffling comments since his fall from grace forced him to retire. From admitting that he didn't want Kenny Pickett to succeed to now pretending he never lost to the Browns, maybe he'd be better off just lying back and enjoying retirement.
The Browns have beaten Pittsburgh five consecutive times at home, and they've won a playoff game more recently than the Steelers have.
Even so, one of the best (maybe fifth-best?) quarterbacks of his generation might need more time to face facts and deal with this new reality. The Browns are coming.
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