Joe Flacco has a surprising message for Ben Roethlisberger after losing to Steelers
The Ravens quarterback had three words for Big Ben after their Christmas Day game
By
John Breech
•
2 min read
When Joe Flacco walked off the field after watching his team lose to the Steelers on Christmas Day, he could've given Ben Roethlisberger a fast handshake and quickly headed to the locker room.
However, that's not what he did. When the two quarterbacks met at midfield after Pittsburgh's 31-27 win, Flacco actually had a surprising message for Roethlisberger.
The Ravens quarterback told Big Ben that he'd be rooting for him to win the Super Bowl.
"Hey, go get 'em, man," Flacco said to Roethlisberger. "Go win it."
The exchange between the two quarterbacks was caught by NFL films and aired this week on Showtime's Inside the NFL (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET/PT).
Although the Steelers seem to have an ugly rivalry with some teams in their division (cough, the Bengals), there's clearly no animosity between Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
Despite the fact that the loss to the Steelers eliminated the Ravens from the playoffs, Flacco was still in good spirits when he met Roethlisberger at midfield. The guys are so comfortable with each other that Big Ben actually made a pretty funny joke after the game.
Roethlisberger: "Hey good job man. Congrats on everything, Merry Christmas."
Flacco: "You too."
Roethlisberger: "You had another new [baby]? You trying to catch up with Phillip [Rivers] or what?"
Flacco: "No man, I'm not going that far."
Note: Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers has eight children. The Flacco family now has four.
The fact that Roethlisberger got Flacco to smile after a tough loss shows you what kind of rivalry the Ravens and Steelers have.
Roethlisberger was actually asked about the rivalry between the two teams this week, and he only had positive things to say.
"A lot of respect when it's over," Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan, a CBS Sports Radio station, via Steelers Depo. "I think everyone just kind of takes it deep breath, like, 'Wow, that was battle.' You went to battle against a foe that you really respect, that fights hard, that's physical. And it's like afterwards everyone is just so exhausted. Obviously, you're so excited you won the North, but you're just so exhausted and you're walking across the field and everyone's just looking and shaking hands and hugging and saying, 'great battle, awesome, lot of respect, look forward to next year.'"
Flacco and Roethlisberger have teamed up to dominate the NFL over the past eight years. Since Flacco's rookie year in 2008, the Steelers and Ravens have combined to take three of the AFC's eight spots in the Super Bowl, and each quarterback has won once over that span (Roethlisberger has won twice overall).
With the Ravens out, Flacco clearly wants to see the Steelers continue to carry the torch of the AFC North.
