Even Ben Roethlisberger's son is chanting James Conner's name

It was one thing for the Heinz Field crowd to chant James Conner’s name in the second half of the Steelers’ 33-18 win Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

What caught quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s attention was the singular chant he heard later that night in his living room.

On his weekly 93.7-FM radio segment Tuesday, Roethlisberger said he was playing catch with his son, Ben Jr., in the family living room when he heard the running back’s name called out after every reception.

“Every time he caught it, he was like, ‘Con-ner, Con-ner,’” Roethlisberger said. “I texted James and said it must have been pretty cool to have the whole place chanting ‘Con-ner.’ But what’s even cooler is when I’m playing catch with my son and every time he’s catching it, he’s you.”

The stadium chants came in the second half of the Steelers’ third consecutive win when Conner accumulated 113 of his career-high 146 rushing yards and 54 of his 66 receiving yards.

In the game, Conner also became the first player in franchise history to record three consecutive 100-yard rushing performances while scoring two touchdowns in each game. Conner’s 599 rushing yards rank third in the NFL, and he leads the league with four 100-yard rushing games, four multi-touchdown rushing games, seven carries of at least 20 yards. He is second with nine rushing touchdowns and fourth with 922 yards from scrimmage.

What has impressed Roethlisberger is that Conner has excelled with the potential return of Le’Veon Bell looming over him. Bell has until Nov. 13 to report or he must sit out the entire season.

Bell could be waiting for the trading deadline to pass, which is Tuesday at 4 p.m., before joining the team.

“I think he’s handling it like a professional,” Roethlisberger said. “The whole Le’Veon stuff can’t be easy, but I finally think he’s not looking over his shoulder. … I think he’s settling in like, ‘I can handle my own up here. I’m doing some good things.’”

Roethlisberger has thrown his support behind Conner and no longer wants to answer any questions related to Bell.

“I don’t want to talk about it because he’s not here,” Roethlisberger said. “When he gets here, we’ll talk about it. Until he’s here, I’ll talk about James and the guys that are helping us win now.”

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Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.