Ex-Ravens Wide Receiver Blasts Big Ben for Bold Take on Baltimore’s Future
During a recent appearance on the Deebo & Joe podcast, former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made a bold prediction on the Baltimore Ravens . He thinks the Super Bowl window in Baltimore has closed.
Among the AFC North teams, Roethlisberger thinks Pittsburgh has the best chance to win the division.
“I would’ve said Baltimore with Lamar Jackson and that, but I think their window is closing. Obviously, Cleveland isn’t in the conversation. Cincinnati , I like what Joe [Burrow] does and their offense is really good, but they don’t care about their defense or anything there,” Roethlisberger said. “I would say Pittsburgh [would win the division].”
Former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith caught wind of Roethlisberger’s statement and did not hold back.
“Ben is just making s— up,” Smith wrote on X. “Ain’t no way he truly believes Pittsburgh is ahead of Baltimore or Cincy.”
Smith thinks the Steelers are just a mediocre team and got lucky last year when they won the AFC North.
“Won the division thanks to a horrible (and confirmed) no int and missed Isaiah Likely TD. The Ravens had an injury report that looked like a CVS receipt. They were just ok,” Smith wrote .
Smith was referring to the Steelers’ Week 14 win over the Ravens. The Steelers also caught a break in the Week 18 win when Tyler Loop missed a game-deciding 44-yard field goal. Pittsburgh won the division due to the missed kick.
The Steelers’ Week 14 win over the Ravens featured three controversial calls that went in the Steelers favor. The NFL admitted days after the game that they got the Travis Jones ’ unecessary roughness penalty on a Steelers field goal attempt wrong. The missed call ended up being a a four-point swing in a five-point Ravens’ loss.
The Ravens also thought they had an interception midway through the fourth quarter, but officials instead ruled that Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had possession of the ball after his pass got deflected by C. J. Okoye. Rodgers said after the game it was his “David Tyree” moment.
In February, Pro Football Talk reported that NFL Executive VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent determined that the replay ruling that overturned a key fourth-quarter Teddye Buchanan interception was one of five calls the league wishes it had back from last season.
The biggest call against the Ravens was the non-touchdown catch by tight end Isaiah Likely. Joey Porter Jr. knocked the ball out of Likely’s hands before he achieved three steps.
Three plays later, the Steelers’ defense forced a turnover on downs on their own 8-yard line, ending the late-fourth-quarter threat.
The league clarified that the Isaiah Likely play was discussed in detail as part of the catch/no catch conversation but it was not one of the five replay rulings from this past season on which the NFL says it would like a do-over, according to Vincent .
The Ravens finished 8-9 last season, and the defense was horrendous, which is abnormal for a franchise like Baltimore. The Ravens ranked 24th in total yards allowed (354.5 per game) and 18th in points allowed (23.4 per game) last season. Baltimore also had only 30 sacks, which was tied for the third-fewest in the NFL.
New Ravens head coach Jesse Minter did wonders as the Los Angeles Chargers defensive coordinator. The Ravens also hired former Miami Dolphins defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver as their new DC. Weaver was a finalist for the Steelers head coach position.
It’s a new era in Baltimore with John Harbaugh no longer the team’s head coach. The Ravens, who were the Super Bowl favorites in 2025, massively failed to live up to the expectations. The addition of Minter and Weaver could get the Ravens back on track in 2026.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Ex-Ravens Wide Receiver Blasts Big Ben for Bold Take on Baltimore’s Future
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