Best of The Ben Maller Show

We’re back under the Friday night 5G lights to crown Derrick’s High School in Arkansas the 2025 champion, with a home-field upgrade, a new weight room, a 2026 tailgate, and a trip to the SEC title game. Thanks to every school that rallied and to T-Mobile for making it shine; season two’s a wrap, and season three lands in 2026.

Q: What’s the DK Metcalf situation and why does it matter for Pittsburgh right now? A: His two-game suspension stands, so he’ll miss the last two of the regular season, and Pittsburgh needs one win in those games to clinch while losing their top target.

Q: What are the financial and contract stakes? A: He’s forfeiting about 555,000 dollars in game checks and his 45 million in guarantees voided, which is a massive hit over a split-second decision.

Q: Where’s the line on blame here? A: Bottom line, you can’t engage a fan and throw a punch; the league has to suspend that every time because you cannot sell tickets to an environment where players mix it up with spectators.

Q: Is it easy to stay calm when provoked? A: No chance—it’s brutally hard to ignore disgusting taunts, but that’s the job, and he hurt his team and himself while the heckler stayed in his seat, which makes it even tougher to swallow.

Q: Any moment that shaped how you see player restraint? A: After the Bush Push at Notre Dame, I watched Reggie Bush and LenDale White get blasted with vile abuse as they walked off, and they didn’t even flinch—total pros.

Q: What should leagues and nearby fans do in these moments? A: Leagues have to police it better so players aren’t tempted to police it themselves, and people near the offender should step up instead of filming it for clout.

Q: What major accomplishment is flying under the radar? A: Pittsburgh just locked in a twenty-second straight winning season, and Mike Tomlin’s been at the helm for nineteen in a row, which is outrageous consistency.

Q: Why is that so hard in today’s NFL? A: One-score games flip year to year, schedules get vicious, injuries pile up, and Tomlin has done this through different eras and quarterbacks without a single losing year.

Q: Is that run tougher than winning one ring? A: A single title run can ride hot breaks, while stacking winning years demands sustained excellence; just look at the Bears stealing late comebacks and the Lions eating bad bounces like that freak end-of-half touchdown.

Q: Why doesn’t Tomlin get full credit? A: It’s the Steelers brand—six Lombardis raise the bar—so people default to playoff gripes, but both can be true: he needs more January wins and nineteen straight winners is still elite; the 70s dynasty only strung nine straight winning seasons while taking four titles.

Q: What’s your issue with Lamar Jackson’s exit vs. New England? A: The official word is a back contusion and he’s day-to-day, and in a must-have game you’ve got to find a way back on the field if it’s pain management rather than a structural injury.

Q: Are you questioning his toughness across the board? A: I respect Lamar and know he’s played through a lot, but with a bruise in that spot there are plenty of quarterbacks who would have pushed through, and that’s the standard when your season’s on the line.

Q: What did that decision cost Baltimore? A: They blew an eleven-point lead, finished with Tyler Huntley, lost to the Patriots, and now they don’t control their path—now they need Pittsburgh to stumble and they must win out.

Q: What’s the bottom line on playing hurt vs. injured? A: Football demands you grind through hurt when the stakes are high—think Manning gutting out a mangled thumb, Rivers on a torn ACL, Emmitt’s shoulder—and in this case there’s no defending not returning in a game that critical.