Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will miss 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury sustained against the St. Louis Rams. He was diagnosed with an MCL sprain and bone bruise with no additional damage to his ACL, per league sources. That’s good news for the Steelers.
During the third quarter, the Steelers were moving down the field, when Roethlisberger was hit in a collision with Rams safety, Mark Barron. Grasping his knee and writhing in pain, Roethlisberger had to be carted off the field as he could not walk on his own accord. CBS Sports news was the first to report on Twitter that Roethlisberger had indeed sprained his MCL after an MRI had been conducted, later that evening.
https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS/status/648323331373051904
According to Fox Sports rules analyst Mike Pereira, the low hit by Barron should have been flagged for unnecessary roughness because Roethlisberger was in passing motion when he was hit. Pereira also stated “that a defender can’t initiate a lunge and a forcible hit in the knee area or below even if he has been contacted by another defender.”
Prior to the injury, Roethlisberger was 20-for-24, 192 yards and one interception. Backup quarterback Mike Vick entered the game and was all over the place, with just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The veteran quarterback fumbled the ball and was nearly intercepted, finishing 5-for-6, 38 yards. Vick will need to work diligently with the first team and prove that he can carry the team without Roethlisberger in the pocket.
When asked about Roethlisberger’s injury, Vick said:
“I spoke to him at the locker when we got into the locker room and we talked, and he congratulated me. My concern is his health and how he’s doing. Ben’s a great guy. He’s the guy that we all look up to in this locker room. He’s the centerpiece. I was brought here for a reason, so I have to hold it down until No. 7 gets back.”
With a short week and a Thursday night game against division rivals the Baltimore Ravens, the Steelers will need to get Vick up to speed in a hurry. They will be going into Thursday’s game with a 2-1 record against a 0-3 Ravens team.
