Steelers 38, Titans 17
“I’m not the only guy playing with injuries, you know. I’m not going to complain about it. I’m going to go out and do my best. I think what’s more impressive and more important is how the guys that stepped up and filled in for people played. I don’t think I have enough time to name all the guys, there were so many. But I was just so proud of them.” — Ben, post-game.
Post-Game Reaction:
From USA Today:
Ben Roethlisberger’s sprained left foot is just fine thanks. And so, apparently, are the defending AFC champions.
The quarterback tied a team record by throwing for five touchdowns — including two to Hines Ward— and the Pittsburgh Steelers rolled past the Tennessee Titans 38-17 on Sunday.
Other than a slight limp when he ran, Roethlisberger appeared to have no issues with his sprained left foot, also hitting Mike Wallace, Heath Miller and David Johnson for scores as the Steelers (3-2) ended Tennessee’s three-game winning streak.
You can read more here.
“Well, Ben Roethlisberger has had an awfully good day…completing 72% of his passes today behind a good offensive line.” — CBS NFL game announcer Greg Gumbel.
From ESPN‘s Ohm Youngmisuk:
The early demise of the Steelers has been greatly exaggerated. After getting pushed around by Houston last week, Pittsburgh was the bully on the field against a Titans team that had convincing wins over two AFC North teams (Baltimore and Cleveland). It didn’t matter that four starters were sidelined (nose tackle Casey Hampton, linebacker James Harrison, defensive end Aaron Smith and left guard Chris Kemoeatu), their starring running back (Rashard Mendenhall) didn’t get on the field because of a hamstring injury and their starting quarterback (Ben Roethlisberger) played with a sprained foot.
Despite playing with specialized footwear for his sprained left foot, Roethlisberger had one of the best games of his career, throwing five touchdowns. It marked the fourth time in Roethlisberger’s career that he had at least four touchdown passes in a game. He only had three touchdown passes in the four games before the injury.
You can read more here.
“The running backs did a great job. I told Isaac [Redman] the numbers are probably not indicative of how he played. He did such a great job running the ball, picking up blitzes. […]
Big Ben, Big Heart
From Erik Barajas, news anchor at ABC-13 in Houston, Texas:
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office just got a big boost from an unlikely source.
A generous donation is helping out the Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit.
One guy that is not happy with Houston is Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.
We sent him home on crutches after the Texans’ 17-10 victory. But, Big Ben as they call him, seems to have a big heart after making a big donation benefiting the HCSO.
Video of Mr. Barajas’ report and ride-along with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office here.
You can read more about the grant to the Sheriff’s Office below (September 30th news).
Also this weekend:
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette‘s Dan Gigler has an excellent tribute to Heinz Field on the stadium’s tenth anniversary.
Just one of the highlights from his blog of the 10 greatest Steelers games:
9. Dec. 20, 2009 — 37-36 win over Green Bay. In 77 previous seasons of football, the Steelers had never had a 500-yard passer until Ben Roethlisberger put up 503 in this outing against the Packers, probably the most thrilling regular season game ever played at Heinz Field. Roethlisberger’s record-setting pass was the game-winner, a breathtakingly perfect laser to a toe-tapping Mike Wallace in the left corner of the north endzone, eerily similar to Santonio Holmes’ Super Bowl-winning catch 10-months prior.
You can read the full tribute here.
Ben: “I don’t want to let anybody down”
“He plays through a lot more injuries than most guys, especially in big-time situations. You could think of a couple different quarterbacks who wouldn’t play through that.” — Max Starks on his quarterback.
From an article by Mark Kaboly, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review this morning:
Even though he didn’t practice and had a noticeable limp when he removed the protective device, Roethlisberger will make his 20th consecutive start Sunday when the Steelers host Tennessee.
Throughout his career, Roethlisberger has been banged up several times to the point where it was questionable whether he would play in the next game. Nearly every time, Roethlisberger not only has played but come through with winning performances, thus raising questions on the true severity of his injuries.
“I fake it and I’m a wimp,” said Roethlisberger when asked why he thrives in situations when he is hurt. “I don’t know, I guess it makes you focus that much harder. I guess that’s like asking a question of why you do so well in the fourth quarter. … I don’t know if there is an answer.”
At least a dozen times over his career, Roethlisberger has been injured enough to be listed as questionable the following week. Only four times he didn’t play the next game.
“I don’t want to let anybody down, don’t want to let the guys down, so it makes we want to play that much harder,” Roethlisberger said.
You can read Mr. Kaboly’s column here.
Also Today:
Big fan Jennifer McGee, whose photo from the Steelers game against the Seahawks on September 18th graces our Photo of the Week spot this week, sent a few more photos for other fans to enjoy from the same game, including this one of #7 getting #92 ready for battle!
You can check out her photos here.
*Thank you again Jennifer!
Ben: Playing every game like it’s his last
“When I go out at the start of the year I play every game like it’s my last. If this is my last year, this is my last year, that’s the way I play the game.” — Ben, from his interview today.
Highlights from Ben’s Wednesday chat with the media:
On the return of Max Starks –
“It’s good to have Max back. Max is a friend. It took a little while but we got him back and I’m happy for him.”
On what Max Starks brings to the team –
“It’s just his attitude, he brings a fun, healthy attitude, upbeat, he seems to always be smiling and in a good mood. I think he can help Marcus [Gilbert] and some of the other guys, if he’s playing or if he’s not, just his knowledge of the game.
I think as awesome as my wedding was, it was probably a bad thing for some of these guys because the coaches and people got to see how big some of them got. But you know what, it was a difficult off-season, difficult for everybody. No one really knew how to prepare and at the end of the road, he’s here.”
On whether he thinks Max will be able to contribute like he has never been away –
“It’s a good thing, he has been here for eight years so it’s not like we have done anything dramatic since he has been gone. It will be a good thing that if he is in football shape, there is a difference between being in shape and being in football shape, if he is in football shape and can contribute then I think we will use him, but that’s obviously the coaches’ call.”
On his sprained left foot –
Ben will wear a shoe one size larger on his left foot, with a steel plate in the bottom.
“We’ll do our best, just take it day by day and see where it goes. If it’s just a pain tolerance thing, I’m going to be out there. I can deal with pain. We just want to make sure structurally it is sound.”
On whether he thought the hit he took in last Sunday’s game was […]
Tuesday: Injury Update
Ben’s foot injury is not expected to keep him out of Pittsburgh’s game against the Titans this Sunday. An MRI on Monday revealed that injury was a sprained foot, and not a fracture.
“You know me, if I can be out there, I’m going to be out there. That’s for next week too.” — Ben, after last Sunday’s game.
From Coach Tomlin today during his press conference:
“Ben had his foot x-rayed, MRI, thankfully nothing is broken,” said Tomlin. “It is a sprain. It may limit him at the early portions of the week. We anticipate him being able to participate in this football game.”
When pressed for more details, Coach Tomlin added that the team will also get backup Charlie Batch ready if needed.
To read more, click here.
As for Tennessee….
The Titans are expecting Ben to play, boot or no boot.
“We all know what he’s accomplished and what a great player he’s been in this league and how he’s played with injuries,” said coach Mike Munchak. “We’re assuming he’s going to be healthy and ready to go.”
As for Ben playing hurt….
Wide receiver Mike Wallace didn’t notice a difference in Roethlisberger’s presence other than the noticeable limp with which he walked to the line of scrimmage.
“He was his usual self — still trying to make plays, still trying to get guys going,” Wallace said. “But we just didn’t get it done.”
You can read more here.
Also Today:
BIG Shout-Out…
To 16-year old Zach Kern! According to his father Dean, Zach loves watching the Steeler’s play (with dad of course), and always has his Terrible Towel in hand to wave during the games.
Zack has surgery tomorrow morning (Wednesday) at 7:15am at St. Francis Children’s Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Please pray for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery for this Big Ben and Big Steelers fan!
POST-SURGERY UPDATE on Zack:
From his dad, Dean –
“Zach’s out of surgery, and in recovery now. Doctor said everything went well, and based off what he saw he thinks the biopsies will be benign. THANK YOU for all the prayers!!!”
Ben: “If I can be out there I’m going to be out there!”
“If I have to cast it up – we saw I had to do that last year – I cast up my foot for the last half of the year. If we have to do it, I’ll do it.” — Ben, after today’s game.
*Monday injury update below!
Post-Game Update:
Ben had X-ray taken of his left foot after the game and is expected to have an MRI. He said the injury occurred on the second-to-last series when he was tackled from behind. He remained in the game but had trouble walking afterward in the locker room.
Ben told the media that it’s too early to tell if he will be able to play next Sunday when the Tennessee Titans come to Heinz Field.
“I don’t know. I’m still worrying about this game. It’s still too fresh in my mind to worry about next week yet.”
Ben said the loss boiled down to “just making plays, plays I didn’t make, plays I could have made. We had a group of linemen, offensive guys who we were plugging around all over the place. I gotta step up and make plays, and I didn’t do it today.”
But he isn’t pushing the panic button.
“We’ve been down this road enough times that we know it’s about when you get hot. If we can pull together, offense, defense, special teams, and get hot at the right time that’s all that matters.”
He had plenty of company in the injury department today – Aaron Smith, Rashard Mendenhall, Jason Worilds, and James Harrison were also sidelined in the loss.
More from the AP:
Roethlisberger limped into the locker room about 20 minutes after the game with his arms draped around a pair of Steelers employees and an ace bandage and a bag of ice wrapped around his injured foot. He sat alone at his chair with his head down and looked to be gazing at his foot for several minutes before putting on the walking boot to limp to the showers.
The Steelers were without two regular starters on the offensive line Sunday. Roethlisberger has now been sacked 14 times this season and hurried 22 other times.
Still, he didn’t blame Sunday’s problems on his line.
“I’ve still got to make plays,” Roethlisberger said. […]