Roethlisberger has been dealing with a knee sprain and he has been out for a month for the Steelers and now looks ready to return. The three-game stretch that awaits them includes games against Oakland and Cleveland after Sunday’s game, and it marks a crucial time of year for the Steelers.
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It’s hard to tell who is going to be happier hearing the new that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to return to the Steelers lineup for the team’s Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals – fans in Pittsburgh or Roethlisberger’s fantasy owners.
While Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis acknowledged that Dalton’s continued to work to improve – that’s what professional athletes are supposed to do, so, yes – he also said Dalton finally have protection in front of him in addition to healthy weapons around him has been key to the quarterback’s and Cincinnati’s success this season. He had hoped to play Sunday at Kansas City, though the team wasn’t willing to risk him aggravating the injury after returning too soon. “I’ve been hurt for a while, so being able to go back out there, get another shot at it, it meant a lot to me”.
As evidenced against the Chiefs, this isn’t yet a unit that the Steelers can ride to victory on a weekly basis. “We had to show what we had”, West said. DeAngelo Williams was a great replacement for Bell in his absence, Markus Wheaton stepped up for the team while Bryant served his suspension, and even Mike Vick and Landry Jones stepped up to each lead the team to a win in Ben’s absence. There won’t be a big celebration. We saw him behind linemen who couldn’t block time on a calendar, let alone a defense. We know how he operates. “You miss the guy when he is out, and when he is back we will roll”.
Are three full practices this week enough for Roethlisberger and his receivers to get their timing back?
The Steelers went 2-2 with Roethlisberger out, keeping them in the playoff mix in the AFC. Dallas, for example, has gone 0-4 since quarterback Tony Romo suffered a broken collarbone the week before Roethlisberger was injured.
“It would be a huge boost for us, not just offensively, but from a morale standpoint for the team”, linebacker Arthur Moats said. That is what is going to carry us through because they are a really good defense.
They did just that winning behind second-stringer Mike Vick and Jones. This will mark the first time that the Pittsburgh Steelers will have all its offense starters in the field at the same time this National Football League season. That’s below the 30 points per game Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley each stated in training camp was a goal for the team this season. Brown batted one of Jones’ two picks into the air and set up the turnover.
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Pittsburgh, which went 2-2 without Roethlisberger, is 4-3 overall and 2 1/2 games behind the Bengals for the top spot in the AFC North. He added a short run on an option play to convert another third down, and Smith hit Conley from 5 yards with 5:13 left to put the game away. So far they have had impressive comeback wins against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore and in overtime at home against the Seattle Seahawks.
