The Pittsburgh Steelers are known throughout the league as having some of the most loyal fans in the NFL. You hear fans talk about their "fandom" like it is a birthright, or how they were drawn in by any of the great players or teams the Steelers have had over the decades. That doesn't mean that they don't have wild thoughts or takes, or that they at times act horribly toward the players.
Stories of fans making threats to players on social media for making mistakes. That happened to Steelers Pro Bowl special teams star, Miles Killebrew, who had three flags thrown on him during one game. It was highly unusual for Killebrew to make a mistake and definitely odd to see him make that many. But fans didn't take that into account when they started threatening him online.
That isn't the only kind of bad behavior from fans that players or teams experience. It is not uncommon to hear fans state that the team "gave up" during a game or even worse, they accuse the team of "playing down to their opponent." The idea of playing down to your opponent is that teams who are projected to win, struggle against teams that they should easily beat. It is almost like they get overly cocky, assuming they can win and go into the game not taking that team seriously. We certainly heard that this past season when the Steelers lost to two 2-10 teams in a row.
Steelers Players Deny Playing Down To Opponents
The Steelers had a rollercoaster of a season in 2023. They started with Kenny Pickett and dreams of a playoff win, and some even hoped for a Lombardi Trophy. They ended the season fighting for their life with Mason Rudolph. No one had that on their 2023 bingo card, and just squeaking into the playoffs. That middle period when the team was losing games they should have won, the fans were losing hope and you constantly heard folks saying they played down to their opponents.
One former Steelers offensive guard, Ramon Foster, recently spoke about playing down to an opponent. Foster now co-hosts a podcast with Pittsburgh sports reporter Dejan Kovacevic on DK Pittsburgh Sports called The Ramon Foster Show. A fan wrote in and asked how angry it makes players when they hear fans say that.
"Ooh, p***ed off. Livid. And also questioning too, very questionable. Not in these words but, 'Are we playing down? How did this team jump out on us?' We know they are going to play us hard. Some teams might just be a mismatch and some teams might just catch you sleeping at the wheel. But to say you played down to competition? No," said an emphatic Foster.
He added that as an offensive lineman, you are well aware of the fact that you can't catch the ball, run the ball, or prevent the other team from scoring. Foster is also not mentioning that he played with one of the best offensive lines in the history of the Steelers.
On his line with him for the majority of his 11-year career in Pittsburgh was center Maurkice Pouncey, guard David DeCastro, tackle Alejandro Villanueva, and tackle Marcus Gilbert. They were so good at what they did, so consistent, and worked so hard that Head Coach Mike Tomlin took to calling them "The Goon Squad." If you are thinking "goon" is an insult, it wasn't, it was respect. They were so good, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger often walked off the field in a clean uniform. So no, according to Foster, that group didn't have an ounce of "play down" in their souls.
"We're just labored workers, just trying to make it happen for everybody else. I'll speak for my guys on the inside, we never felt like we played down. Some days you just get your you know what whooped. It used to p**s me off, I ain't going to lie. That was one of them like, you come out here and get your head bashed in for 70 plays and let me know if we're playing down!"
He adds that from a fan perspective, he can kind of see why they might assume that. If you are on the outside looking in, it might appear that way. Foster said that he does think teams play up to the Steelers.
Every team sees this happen from time to time, losing a game they are meant to win. Pittsburgh is no exception, as Kovacevic points out there are games that make you wonder, such as that horrible loss to the then-Oakland Raiders and the tie with the Cleveland Browns. The reality is that the players on both teams are the best of the best and yet, none of them are perfect. Just like any human doing a job, you have good days and bad days. In football, there is a lot more that goes into winning a game than just team standings. There are endless factors including weather, injury, officiating, and frankly, a little bit of luck.
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