Ben Roethlisberger: Pittsburgh Steelers are "little brother" compared to New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who lost to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game, compared the rivalry "like the little brother trying to keep up with the big brother."

During an appearance on University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari's podcast, Roethlisberger was asked if the Steelers have a hatred for the Patriots, who have won six of the past seven games against Pittsburgh.

"I'd say there's more respect than a hatred," Roethlisberger told Calipari, via ESPN.com. "There's divisional hatred, Baltimore and us, Cincinnati and us, but I don't think there's a hatred there. We've played them now twice in my 13 years in the championship game, my rookie year and this year ... obviously, they've gotten the better of us twice in the championship game and kind of had our number, so we're like the little brother trying to keep up with the big brother in a sense."

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw for a franchise playoff-best 384 yards and three touchdowns in a 36-17 rout of the Steelers in New England's sixth consecutive AFC title game.

Brady and the Patriots are now 10-2 against the Steelers during his career -- 5-0 at Gillette Stadium and 3-0 in the conference championship game where Brady has five touchdowns, no interceptions and a 118.6 passer rating.

"Every mistake is magnified," Roethlisberger told Calipari, explaining what happened in Foxborough on Jan. 22. "When we played in that championship game, they didn't make very many mistakes."

Roethlisberger was not asked about his playing future while he visited with Calipari, a Pittsburgh native.

Days after the loss to the Patriots, Roethlisberger hinted that he might have played his last NFL game.

"I'm going to take this offseason to evaluate, to consider all options," Roethlisberger told 93.7 The Fan on Jan. 24. "To consider health, and family and things like that and just kind of take some time away to evaluate next season, if there's going to be a next season. I'm going to take some time and evaluate with my family and just do a lot of praying about it and make sure (playing next season is) the right thing for me and my family."

Roethlisberger, 34, threw for 3,819 yards and 29 touchdowns over 14 games in 2016. He is the Steelers' all-time leader in passing yards (46,814) and touchdowns (301) in 185 career games over his 13 seasons with Pittsburgh.

Steelers president Art Rooney II addressed the topic earlier in the week, saying he had a "good conversation" with the future Hall of Famer and expects Big Ben to return in 2017 for a 14th season.

Roethlisberger said he will watch the Super Bowl in California with his agent, family and friends.

"We watch the commercials and have the game on in the background," he joked in his talk with Calipari.