Ben Roethlisberger was not ready to discuss his future after the Pittsburgh Steelers lost 48-37 to the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round on Sunday.

The Steelers were the last team to be unbeaten in the regular season before finishing 12-4 but committed three turnovers in the first quarter at Heinz Field, Karl Joseph returning Maurkice Pouncey's fumble for a touchdown on the opening drive and Roethlisberger throwing two interceptions.

It was the first time Pittsburgh committed three turnovers in the first quarter under Roethlisberger across his 17 seasons with the team, with the Browns taking full advantage to surge into a 28-0 lead.

The 38-year-old finished the game 47-of-68 passing for 501 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions, but the damage had already been down.

Roethlisberger has one year remaining on his contract worth $41.2million and is yet to make a decision on whether he will return next season.

"It's going to start between me and God, a lot of praying. A lot of talking with my family, discussions, decisions," said Roethlisberger.

"I still have a year left on my contract. I hope the Steelers want me back, if that's the way we go. There will be a lot of discussions. But now is not the time for that.

"This loss is fresh. It's just sitting on our hearts and our minds right now. It will for a while."

On his performance, he added: "It wasn't good enough. When you lose a game like this, you can look back and evaluate all you want on the season, how you did during this game, that game, runs, stretches. I mean, at some point we'll look back on the whole thing.

"But when it doesn't end the way you want it to, you're always going to feel some kind of way, like you came up short or it's your fault."

The Steelers have not won a playoff game since 2016, with their past three appearances in the postseason ending in defeat. For the Browns, it was a first playoff victory since 1994.

Asked if he was accountable for Pittsburgh's recent failures, head coach Mike Tomlin replied: "It is what it is. Our record is our record. Our performances are our performances. Don't run away from that.

"We didn't perform well enough. Not coaching, not playing. You can chalk it up to the turnover game. But we weren't good enough in a lot of other areas, communication, in terms of detail. Just not a good night for us.

"In the single elimination tournaments, when you don't have a good night, you go home."