With divisional rivals Baltimore Ravens breathing down their necks, the struggling Pittsburgh Steelers must maximize every resource to stay on top in the AFC North come week 11. For this to happen, franchise legend Ben Roethlisberger has made clear what he wants from head coach Mike Tomlin. Big Ben wants his former coach to go against his long-standing philosophy, which benefits the ageing Aaron Rodgers and the stagnant Steelers offense.

“He (Jaylen Warren) runs with violence, and he runs, and he gets you yards, and I would I would stick with that,” Roethlisberger suggested on the Footbahlin channel. “I think it takes pressure off Aaron. It takes the beating off Aaron. It takes the pressure off the line.”

Big Ben has been unhappy with Warren’s utilization. He believes that the RB’s increased involvement in the offense will push the opposition to “come down and stop the run,” which would open up the passing game. Subsequently, it will lead to the team’s TEs and WR DK Metcalf getting more touches of the ball and end the stagnation of the offense.

This shift in Roethlisberger’s focus was not just about scheme, but momentum. If the offense could find its rhythm again, the path ahead suddenly looked far less daunting.

Later on in the podcast, ahead of the Bengals’ games, Roethlisberger also revealed that he was confident in a Steelers win, joking that Flacco was 63 years old.

“The only good news about tonight is we have the Bengals next week,” he said.

For Big Ben’s suggestions to work, Mike Tomlin would have to veer away from his long-standing running back rotation policy. With Roethlisberger and even Aaron Rodgers expressing the need to give more playing time to Warren, coach Tomlin needs to make a major call.

Rodgers seconds Ben Roethlisberger’s RB demand

When the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their latest defeat against the Los Angeles Chargers, the offense was highlighted as the biggest problem. But through this poor offensive performance, Jaylen Warren emerged as the lone star with his 70 yards rushing on 14 carries, and two receptions for 21 yards. But despite these numbers, his backup, Kenneth Gainwell, actually played four more snaps (27 to 23) against the Chargers.

Reacting to the issue, Aaron Rodgers made a suggestion similar to the one by Ben Roethlisberger in his podcast.

“I’d love to see Jaylen on first, second, or third down, but I love seeing Kenny on first, second, third down, too,” Rodgers said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “They’re a luxury, those two guys. I think we need to keep getting Jaylen more runs on first and second down and mix them in on third down. But Kenny’s done a great job on third down for us.”

With an important game against the Cincinnati Bengals coming up over the weekend, Mike Tomlin and his coaching staff could certainly have given these suggestions a thought. The opportunity would also allow the Steelers to make full use of their home advantage. Should they lose, the Steelers could further fall behind in the AFC North race, with the Ravens just a win behind them.