Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger offered a critical self-assessment Wednesday after the team's Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears.
The Steelers were upended in overtime, with Roethlisberger going 22-of-39 for 235 yards and a touchdown.
He put the blame for the 23-17 loss squarely on himself.
"The quarterback needs to play better," Roethlisberger said, via ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.
"I didn't play well enough to win. We lost the game because of me, because I didn't play well enough," he added. "It's not on anyone else. That's how I felt, that's what you've got to do is you've got to own it. And I'll own it.
"If I play better in that game, I feel we win the game. If I play better in the first two weeks, then we're going to score more points and have a productive offense, and we don't have to answer questions about why our offense isn't where it is."
The Steelers aren't in as bleak a scenario as Roethlisberger outlined, tied for the AFC North lead with their arch-nemesis Baltimore Ravens, who they'll square off against Sunday.
Baltimore was recently humiliated during a 44-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and will be intent on disrupting Roethlisberger and Co., in a game that ought to reignite one of the NFL's fiercest rivalries.
