DALLAS // A distraught Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he felt like he let his team and fans down after throwing two interceptions in a 31-25 Super Bowl defeat to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night.
Roethlisberger, who sat out the opening four games of the NFL season after being suspended for violating the league's personal conduct policy, said there were several throws that he would like to have back.
"I don't put blame on anybody but myself. I feel like I let the city of Pittsburgh down, the fans, my coaches, my teammates. It's not a good feeling," he told reporters.
"You know me, I hate to lose. Like I said, especially when you feel like you're letting down guys that really stepped up today in a big way, so it's really hard."
Roethlisberger's first interception, an attempted pass to Mike Wallace, was returned for a touchdown by Nick Collins to put the Steelers down 14-0 down in the first quarter.
His second pick, also on a pass attempt to Wallace, set up a Green Bay scoring drive that put the Packers up 21-3 late in the second quarter.
Roethlisberger said the Steelers, who battled back with two touchdowns and were down four points at the start of the fourth quarter, believed a record-breaking comeback could be in the cards but blamed himself for the failure.
"We're a team of fighters. We don't quit. We believe in each other. We were going to fight all the way to the last second, which I think we did," said Roethlisberger.
"If I had played a little bit better, I feel like we would have had a better chance to win the game."
