Two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger says he believes that "people aren't afraid to play the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore".
Roethlisberger spent 17 years playing quarterback for the AFC North franchise, throwing for 64,088 yards in his career on the way to winning Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII.
Despite having the sixth-lowest scoring offense in the NFL this season, the Steelers are still in playoff contention at 7-6 - a lot of which is down to their defense.
And speaking on Channel Seven's Footbahlin show, Roethlisberger said the defense still maintains the same intensity as when he played for the team, but the offense is nowhere near the same level.
"When I left I was kind of the last old guard there... there was such an age gap between me and everyone else on offense," said Roethlisberger.
"There just wasn't that Steeler tradition passed down. You have it on defense don't get me wrong, but you don't have it on offense right now, you're not seeing that toughness on offense.
"And I say toughness in the sense of a Steeler toughness. Who is grabbing someone by the facemask to say, 'That's not what we do?'
"Yes you have guys on defense doing that but you need guys on both sides of the ball doing it, you need someone to stand up in that room and say, 'This isn't what it means to wear the black and gold!'"
The Steelers continue their hunt for a playoff spot on Sunday on the road against the Indianapolis Colts, trying to recover from their Week 14 loss to the New England Patriots.
"When we showed up places we were up 3-0 without playing, the second we got off the bus because people were intimidated by us," added Roethlisberger.
"Some of that is lost, our defense is still intimidating, but people aren't afraid to play the Pittsburgh Steelers anymore.
"Maybe the tradition of the Pittsburgh Steelers is done."